HipHopConnection

-Peter Dixon

Main Image• First thing is that Flo Rida is covering the whole image, the magazine cover is 85% him this shows he is a

very powerful figure and therefore one of the most important features if not the most important feature in this magazine. The title is behind the main image too, this shows that the artist flo rida is what is selling this magazine and not the name/masthead. He is looking directly at the audience with a mid eye level shot this entices the reader and appeals in a direct manner to them. He is wearing lots of jewellery to show off how much money he has earned through his career in rap, like gold chains, watches and sunglasses. This could also be advertising for the companies that made these sunglasses. His hair is cut perfectly clean showing that he is almost perfect and he can appeal to everyone who reads this magazine. His tattoos are on show too this is an advert for tattoos but also just shows off his body more to show how ‘cool’ and popular he is. But some of his tattoos may have deep meanings and this could be mentioned in the interview inside the magazine, we can imply this is an interview because Flo Rida has had a photo-shoot with this company to get a cover image and therefore has had direct contact with staff from the magazine. He is in the middle of the cover like most other magazine covers I have analyzed this is usually so the cover lines and extra information such as barcode and issue number can be placed on the right hand or left hand of the magazine. His posture shows that he is thinking this has been posed so he looks like more of a role model so others can look up to him, which thanks to the magazine and a very slight low angle shot we are already slightly looking up to him.

House Style• The house style of the magazine is again bold and sans serif font style with the hero colours of orange and

white these colours can be placed on most colours and still be easily read so the audience can instantly see what is in the magazine or the name. The title and skyline are done in a colour of white this is so it stands out from the background but because it is a bland colour it tells the audience that it is not that important, that is why only descriptions and other artists are in white because they are not as important as Flo Rida as his name is written in orange and black and no white to be seen when describing him. White is used to exaggerate certain parts of text instead. Like on the skyline there is orange and black to show off the idea of free Cd’s and such but if this was just in plain white font it would not stand out and so the white banner is much needed. The orange boxes around the white font of the secondly important rappers in the magazine about Big Dada and Lil Wayne just show off the artists’ importance but you can tell they’re not as important as the main image or name of Flo Rida because it is smaller. The barcode is featured at the bottom right of the magazine like conventions of most hip-hop magazines, and this also follows the conventions of showing importance via size of the object on the composition of the whole front cover.

Cover lines• The first coverline about the main image says ‘Flo Rida’ ‘Rida the storm’ this is a pun on the rapper’s name

and the idea of what he’s doing riding the storm, this could explain what will be the theme or one of the questions or answers in the interview with him, from the caption fans can tell that this caption if talking about his life instead of being a new song that has been released. The next cover line down says ‘Big Dada’ ‘A decade deep’ This appeals to followers of Big Dada and will perhaps cover the idea that he has been rapping for around a decade and may be questioned on this. The next one about Lil Wayne asks if ‘he is the best rapper alive?’ this could spark controversy between the audience or encourage them to read this article as they would want to know why Lil Wayne is the best rapper. From all the cover lines you can tell that it is the rappers that are selling the magazine because all the cover lines are not puns or slightly confusing they are simply the name of the rapper instead so people can see the rappers name and instantly buy the magazine after seeing that their favourite rapper is inside the magazine, the second parts of the cover lines are just to describe quickly what the rapper is doing or talking about in the magazine as just having the rappers name would be confusing to the audience and it is good for the audience to know a little bit about what they’re going to read before they read it as the cover is the first part of a magazine.

Extra Stuff• This magazine includes a free CD to entice other people who wouldn’t usually buy the magazine to have a

listen to some rap music and therefore it advertises hip-hop music as a whole and the magazine and the music can gain a wider following.

• The price of the magazine is £3.75 this is around the right price for a monthly magazine as this can easily fit into the budget of an average minimum wage or no wage at all, considering all the content and what type of music this is the average audience would be 16-25 and sometimes higher or lower for secondary audiences because of the language and some may just have popular rappers that they would like to read about.