1. By Sophie
Zhakata
HIP-HOP
Magazine

2. Sell lines:
- Black and red theme
MASTHEAD: My Masthead is bold and in font size
- conventional,
‘150’ as I noticed that more often than not, one of the most - use of Question marks and
predominant features of a hip hop magazine is its exclamation marks – speaking
conspicuous masthead at the top of the page. Its also directly to the reader, making
conventional to use the colours black and red together as think about the questions and
they are very striking together. Red is often use on hip hop exclamation marks – make
magazines as it’s a very strong colour and connotes anger , I everything seem exciting.
used Red to outline my masthead to support this and also
reflect the strong emotions being portrayed in the music. model often seen as
The Black glow surrounding the text contrasts with the red looking tough or over
outline. confident, reflects the
-The Font of the Masthead is an informal Graffiti style
gang culture.
which represents the hip hop/gang culture. The curved
edges reflect the movement of hip hop music, the creativity The plain white
and free style rapping. Mastheads of hip hop magazines are background is also
informal or written In a graffiti style. Model ‘Miss - X’ conventional for a hip
conventional to have the hop magazine.
artist featuring in the Barcode and
music article to also date
feature on the front cover. conventional
MODEL/ CHOSEN IMAGE: Hip hop’s about the beats, the music and the fashion. Originating from African American
youths hip hop artists today often feature in their music videos wearing urban street wear and a lot of gold jewellery ‘bling’.
Women in the hip hop industry often promote a sex appeal through their fashion which consists of tight revealing clothing.
The inside of the masthead is filled with silver diamonds to make it eye catching and establish the hip hop theme.
The image I have used is conventional as the model is wearing tight leopard print leggings and a low cut black top. She is also
wearing a lot of gold jewellery and is dressed to standout with her extra long eyelashes and bright pink earrings.
-she has a very serious expression on her face which suggests confidence in herself.

3. Chosen Images: -the models
Use of colour: - bold black writing
have all adopted a
with the contrast of a red highlight
conventional rapper/gangster
over key words. -The colours black
pose, expressing attitude and a
white and red have been layered
high level of confidence . With
around each other to grab the
their over confident body
audiences attention with the
language and facial
contrast
expressions it’s believable that
they feel that they are one of
the ‘greatest rappers of all
Information: time’.
- There are certain headings
on the page such as ‘get the
hip hop look’ and match the
trade marks’, which make it
clear that the magazine
features hip hop culture in
general rather than just the
music.
- The typography is informal
which suits the target
audience however the
layout which enables
readers to read clearly and
swiftly find the page they
want to read.

4. What have you
learnt about
technologies from
the process of
conducting this
product?
In order to meet the demands of this course we have used a variety of technologies to create a successful media
product. As I do not often use the more advanced programs such as ‘final cut pro’ I was unaware of the advantages that
they gave me.
Final cut pro: I had only used this once and was therefore inexperienced. We used this program to
edit our peer evaluations. cutting out un needed parts and including text and images the final
outcome was very professional.
Photoshop: I had used this program a few times and I’ve come to see how it creates an
accessible way of editing photographs and adding finishing touches. It’s an essential program
that allowed me to create an image which was perfect for my media product.

5. Lasso and eraser
tool – erase
background
Enhanced brightness and contrast –
windows live photo gallery

6. Photography: I have learnt how to use a Nixon D3000 which allowed me to take high quality
professional photographs. Using a camera like the D3000 allowed me to have more control over the
photos as it’s manual. This means I can adjust the focus and aperture etc to my advantage. The Nixon
D3000 is better quality than an average camera and has a much higher zoom again leaving me with
more control.
Social networks: I used websites
such as blogger.com to post my
work showing progression
throughout each week. I used
survey monkey to conduct
questionnaires. Without this I
wouldn’t of been able to collect
as much audience research as I
did as it was all online. Using
these websites was quite easy to
go about as I am already familiar
with other social networks such
as face book and you tube.

7. Survey monkey: audience
Publishing a post
research.

8. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
My media product represents a range of social
groups as the target audience are between the
ages of 16 – 25. My magazine represents these
groups as its young and fresh without being
childish. The images and colours are exciting
however at the same it includes a good amount of
factual information in a formal structured layout.
The images I have used are of people around
the same age as my target audience which
means they can relate to it.
The magazine focuses on more than one topic which
means there may be something for each group.
There is enough factual information about the artist
to satisfy people interested in the music only.
Fashionable and stylish images for the fashion goers
and a very informative article on the artist’s life for
people into the celebrity lifestyle of hip hop.

9. One of the media institutions to
distribute my magazine would be the
consumer magazine, located in New
York, ‘Harris Publications‘. The reason I
chose ‘Harris Publications’ is because at
the moment they distribute two major
hip hop magazines: ‘XXL’ and ‘King’
among 75 titles. This shows that
although they have an interest in hip
hop magazines and distribute them well
as ‘XXL’, and ‘King’ are very successful;
there will be not as much competition
to consider between the magazines as
only 2 out of 75 are similar to mine
within the institution.

10. What would be the audience for your media
product?
My magazine is aimed at an audience including both males and females between the ages of 16 and 25.
Hip hop is usually aimed at a particular audience however I have ensured that my magazine features
lighter hip hop, with some fusion of Pop and R&B meaning that it will appeal to a wider audience as there
is a variety of styles incorporated. An example of this is the ‘billboard hot 100’ chart which features all
music. This is mentioned of the front cover. The hip hop in my magazine also falls into the mainstream
category as it features hip hop artists ‘Miss –X’, an exciting up and coming artist and information on the
‘young money thieves’ organisation and therefore is suitable for the target audience.
The Price of my magazine will be between £1.50 -£2.50 as it’s comparable to other magazines on the
market. Filled with factual information, exclusive images and interviews, fashion tips and a chance to win
free gig tickets the magazine is value for money. It’s suitable to the target audience as students/young
adults don’t usually have a lot of money.
My target audience will shop in places such as, Nike, Office, Foot Locker, River island, Republic, Landal
Sports and use social networking to listen and share new hip hop tracks.
My target audience will also be inspired to be like successful artists featuring in the magazine. As they are
young they will look up to people like the artist on my front cover and admire them.

11. How did You
attract/address your
audience?
I attracted and addressed my audience by including a young and attractive female artist on the front
cover. As well as the career- focused information which focuses on her chart success; unique style and
collaborations with other artists, the music article also includes a short recall about the artists life when
they were younger and the struggles they faced and the target audience may be able to relate to it.
The informal language such as ‘Imma tear up the charts’ will be appropriate for the target audience.
The relaxed style and grammar will make the reader feel relaxed whilst reading as it’s familiar to them.
It reflects how they would write to their friends or even speak.

12. There is a good balance of images and editorial as people in general don’t like to read
too much in a magazine without having images to look at and relate the text too.
There is enough text in order for the readers to get a satisfying amount of factual
information without getting bored and the images are interesting giving the same
amount of information.
The model on the front cover is of a young, fresh and fashionable female hip hop
artist. Not only will this be sexually appealing to the male audience but will draw in
female attention as they will aspire to be like her. The model is also dressed in clothes
that are the trends and fashions today which will be wore by and appeal
I used bold eye catching titles and text, varying the font and including bright colours
he magazine would definitely catch peoples eye.

13. Look back at your preliminary task, what do you think you
have learnt in the progression?
I have made progress between constructing the school magazine and the music
magazine. I have learnt to think more closely about all the factors involved in the
process such as the amount of careful planning needed to ensure the media
product is successful.
I have also found that my skills using technologies such as ‘Final cut pro’ have
improved and I have successfully been able to manipulate and edit images, text
and video.
The quality of the pictures for my music magazine were 100% more successful and
effective as I had thought carefully about all of the details such as the background,
props, lighting etc unlike the school magazine. As my editing skills have progressed,
my music magazine is very much more a magazine format than the school
magazine.