2nd magazine front cover analysis

The music genre of the magazine is rap. It is targeted at a young/middle aged, both male and female, audience. Rap is predominantly listened to by males. However, the image show a very famous young female rap artist(Nicki Minaj) who is seen as an idol to female rap audiences. Text located around the magazine also shows that this magazine is aimed at females as well as males, ' the struggle of female MCs'.The main image shows two very famous rap artists which are familiar to the young/middle aged audience as they are relatively new to this genre. The general rap genre usually takes interest to the younger audience, however the text located around the magazine('Hip-hop on a higher level') and the masthead 'XXL' may also give the audience the idea that the content within the magazine maybe suitable for a audience between the ages of 18-25.
  
The image is the only image located on the page and takes up most of the space on the front cover. This shows the audience the main story located within the magazine is of the two artists displayed. The image is displayed on a black background which is typical of the rap music genre and gives a dark urban like mood which is familiar with the target audience. The two artists are standing close to each other which indicates to the audience that they are both closely linked and have had a close connection in the rap music genre. The artist on the left(Nicki Minaj) is dressed in a black and leopard outfit which is typical of a female rap artist and is familiar to the audience as they have become used to this outlandish clothing from the female artists of this genre. The artist on the right(Drake) is shown wearing something around his neck known as a dog tags. These are familiar to an audience of this genre. Along with Nicki Minaj's gold like prop she is holding towards her chest, these accessories are a almost like a cultural symbol known to the urban world as 'bling' which is familiar amongst the young audience.

The Magazine is called XXL which is an abreveation for extra, extra large. However, it is not directly linked to the content or the target audience. The typeface however  is big and bold. the artists name as written in white with the word domination written underneath in red. This tells the audience that these two artists are a big topic within the rap genre. The word domination suggests to the audience their popularity and movements with this genre are currently the main topic within the magazine. Further evidence is under neath. 'The rebirth of rap royalty'. This text suggests to the audience that the artists within the image are a key issue of their genre. The copy is placed in music stores at A4 size as the barcode located on the front suggests. This is essential as it is easy for the young audience to obtain and read.