2. Introduction
In this presentation I will be looking into the conventions of
existing rap magazine and I will be using this research to note
down all the main conventions.
I am doing this because I am making a magazine based on this
genre and I feel I need to make sure that my magazine can be
recognised as a rap/hip-hop magazine and maintain a
professional look.
I will then either use or challenge these conventions within
my finished magazine
4. The magazine title is large
and across the top of the
page.
Main article title, larger text
than the rest of the articles
Some of the other articles
within the magazine are
stated around the side.
Some company logos are
also located around the
magazine front cover,
including advertisements,
barcodes, web addresses
and twitter details.
The main image on the front
cover is of one person and is
a half body shot; as you can
see all the focus on the front
cover is of this artist
5. The logo of the
magazine is once
again locate at the
top of the page and Information on
is large compared to other articles
the rest of the text within the
on the page magazine
The main article within the Once again a
magazine is in large text barcode is
down the side, as you can located at the
see it is the a similar size bottom of the
to the magazine title. front cover.
Once again the main image on
the front cover is a large picture
of some artists; alike other front
covers it is a mid body shot of the
artists; and as you can see all the
focus of the front cover is on the
artists. The background is simple
making the artists stand out a lot
more.
6. Here are the various
The main magazine
labels on the
title is located at the
magazine this
top of the page in
includes a barcode
large text.
and a ‘the upgrade’
The main magazine symbol.
article is made to
Once again there is
stand out, but in this
a body shot of an
case the text is
artist on the front
smaller compared
cover, and as you
to the text in the
can see this has
magazine title.
been done to make
Various side articles all the focus of the
are spread around front cover on this
the page, ranging in particular artist as it
text size but all links to the main
smaller than the article
main article, plus
these articles don’t
stand out as much
as the main article.
7. The main magazine
name is here, as you
can see in this
particular case it is
the largest text on
the page
Here is the man Here is the main
article title, as image within the
you can see it magazine front
is small, but it is cover, as you can
the only text on see it stands out
the page, plus it due to it being one
is placed in of the only things on
such a place the cover; once
within the again it is an image
image which of one artist and it is
makes it stand a half body shot.
out
Here is the bar code and a symbol for a
radio station, as you can see these are
located at the bottom of the page.
8. What I have learnt from the front
covers:
The main points I have gathered from existing front covers are:
• The focus of most front covers in rap/hip-hop magazines are the artist on the
front, which will also be related to the main article on the front cover
• The main article title of the magazine is usually on the front cover and it is
either the largest text on the page or the second larges; the main article title
needs to stand out along with the main picture on the front cover
• Most magazines have the names and titles of other article within somewhere
on the front cover, these may be some important articles; but the magazine front
cover will always focus on the main article and the artist related to this article
• A bar code is always located somewhere near the bottom of the front cover
• The main magazine title is always at the top of the front cover and is always
the largest text on the front cover
• The shots of artists on front covers are always mid-body shots and this seems
to be a tradition on most rap magazine front covers; this also allows the
attention to be focused on the artist on the cover.
10. The main bulk of text which is the
contents is located to the right of the
page, the text contains page
numbers so the reader knows which
pages each articles are located on
and it contains some information
regarding each article. In the case
of this specific magazine the
contents page is refer to as
‘features’
The article related to A upper body shot of
the image is another artist on the
highlighted, with the contents page, this
article name at the top shot takes the focus
right of the page, and from the text and onto
the page number and the artist related to the
info on the article at the article. This is related
bottom left of the page to the article
highlighted by the text
at the bottom left, but
The date is located this wont be the main
at the top of the article due to it not
page so people being on the front
know when this cover.
issue was released
11. Here is the contents section, once
again it is located at the right side of
the page, and this time it is labelled
‘contents’. Each section of the
contents text features page
numbers and article names for each
article within the magazine.
Here is the main image on the
contents page, as you can see it is
a mid body shot of the artist but this
time round there is no article
highlighted with this image, but it will
be related to one of the articles
within the magazine.
This image has been taken in such
a way to catch the readers attention
before they start reading through
the contents section of the
magazine.
Here these is a logo located at the
bottom right of the contents page,
this logo will be the magazine logo.
12. Once again the main bulk of text is
located on the right side of the page
and the text contains page
numbers, article titles and a small
bit of information of each article
indicated on the contents page.
There is a main image on the
contents page of one of the artists
relating to the article located on the
bottom left. This is a mid body shot
of the artist and this image grabs all
the focus of the contents page.
Here there is the main article
information which also links to the
image on the contents page, as you
can see the text is larger compared
to the rest of the information on the
page.
Below this there is a artist briefing
section which gives the reader an
idea on the background of the artist
and what they do.
13. The main bulk of text is once again
located on the right side of the
contents page, as you can see this
text contains page numbers and
article titles.
Here is the text This is the main image on
relating to the the contents page, in this
main image on particular case it is a full
the contents body shot of the artist but
page, as you they are crouched over.
can see it has As you can see this image
an article title has been placed in such a
and a small way were it draws the
synopsis attention on the contents
indicating what page.
the reader can
expect from this Here there is a date, a
article in company logo and some
particular. other information located
on the bottom of the page
14. What I have learnt from the contents
pages:
The main points I have gathered from existing contents pages are:
• The main bulk of text on the contents page is usually located on the right side
of the page, the text will include article titles, page numbers and in some cases
a brief synopsis on what the article is about
• Before the main bulk of text on top there will also be a header which will state
that this is a contents page
• Towards the left of the page there is always a large image of another artist
(usually different to the one on the front cover) and this image is associated with
one of the articles and in some cases this article is stated.
• Once again the image is a mid-body shot of an artist and this image is usually
the centre of attention on the contents page.
16. Here is the article title across the top of Here is the main bulk of text and this is
the page, it is the largest text on the the article, it has columns and in this case
page, also there is a small introductory it is three, there is also the artists logo
paragraph underneath the main title located near the bottom of the page
This is the
main image
which assists
the article on
the page, as
you can see it
is a mid body
shot of the
artist and is
one of the
largest
features on
the page,
meaning that
it stands out
against the
text on the
page.
17. The main image supporting the article is located on the left page, alone with nothing but
the article title, the image is of the artist the article relates to; this is a mid body shot of
the artist and it has been portrayed in such a way that it draws the attention of the
reader.
Here there is a
quote from the
article that the
writer felt was
important and
wanted it to stand
out from the rest of
the article.
Next to this there is
another image, not
as large or clear as
the main image as
it has been made
smaller and
darkened out to
make the quote
and main image
stand out more.
The main article title is on the opposite This is the main bulk of text on the page, this is the article
page to the text and it appears with the and as you can see it is the smallest text on the page, their
picture; to the right of the title there is a are two columns and the text is colour coded and by looking
brief introduction to the article at I feel that it may be an interview
18. This is the main Here is the main title of the article, as you can see it is at
article image, as the top of the page and the first word ‘USA’ is in larger text
you can see it is a compared to the rest of the text on this page
full body shot of
the artist and the
image has been
portrayed in such a
way that it catches
the readers
attention. This is
achieved by using
bland colours on
the rest of the
page and using
sharper colours
within the image.
This is the main bulk of text and this is the article section of the page, as you can see the image takes up
most of the page. Before the article starts there is a brief introduction about the article. The article features
three columns and each of them contain small text so that they could get as much information into the
article as possible while also making it easily readable.
19. What I have learnt from the double
page spreads:
The main points I have gathered from existing double page spreads are:
• The main image which supports the article is always bigger and presented in
such a way in which it draws the attention of the reader
• Their is always a title present and mostly somewhere near the top of the article
but there is proof that existing professional magazines have challenges this
convention
• Before the main article there is always a brief introduction to what the article is
about and what is in store
• The main bulk of text located within the double page spread is always in
columns as this maintains a neat professional look within the article
20. Conclusion:
In conclusion if I follow the main conventions of each section of the magazine
and use them or challenge them I know that I will be able to create a music
based magazine which looks and feels professional.
At the end of each section I did a ‘what I learned’ section and in these sections I
noted the key features; I will be using these sections as a guideline for myself
while creating my magazine as each of these sections note the main
conventions of rap magazines which I will need to achieve a professional and
successful final product.
Thank you for watching and I hope this presentation has given you a good idea
about the conventions of rap/hip-hop magazines in particular.