Textual Analysis Of Image

XXL magazine is an urban lifestyle magazine which specialises in the Hip-hop and R&B culture. From the front cover of this magazine you can see that the target audience ranges from the ages of 16 to 35 as they are most likely to take pleasure in this genre of music.From this specific article there are very few sell lines however we still get an understanding of who and what the magazine is about. The front cover is also very effective as it includes an image of a hip-hop icon which goes by the name of Lil Wayne. The phrase “I am hip-hop” on Lil Wayne's t-shirt also symbolizes the influences of the hip-hop culture. The layout of the front cover is reasonably straight forward therefore it's easy to understand and allows the target audience to get a vibe of what's featured in this magazine. The magazine front cover is very effectual as the colours are very bold and standout and the typography are limited to only two different fonts.
The main image is a wide shot of Lil Wayne. The connotation of this image is that he is very successful and wealthy. This is showed through the mise-en-scene of his diamond ring. The baseball cap and the tattoo's are also important as it takes its part in the whole hip-hop and R&B culture also portraying the hip-hop look and swagger. The front cover also subverts typical conventions of magazine front covers as influential wording is featured on the t-shirt of the music artist. Another way in which the front cover subverts typical convention is through the use of the masthead as this is placed behind the main image/focal point the magazine also includes a slogan "HIP-HOP ON A HIGHER LEVEL" suggesting that this is the perfect magazine for supporters of hip-hop. The use of alliteration in the slogan is verry effective as it is easier for the audience to understand in a instance.
Harris publications is the publisher of XXL magazine aswell as the publisher of Scratch Magazine. Both magazines are hip-hop based.