Front Page Analysis - XXL

The masthead for XXl is a unique selling point. The typography is big and chunky suggesting it is a masculine magazine. The block behind the typography is red which connotes luxury - the red carpet for instance - suggesting wealth and fame.
The typography itself is made of diamonds which suggests wealth and luxury and the genre of the magazine is R&B which identifies with the bling craze Hip-Hop artists are now adapting.
Another thing about the red background masthead is that the red is a dynamic colour. It's very appealing from afar - it's interesting and eye-catching.

Moving onto the main coverline. The typography used is also big and chunky suggesting masculinity. The font itself resembles the particular font used in army films also suggesting toughness and masculinty which will link on to the main image.
The "&" in between "Baby" and "Lil Wayne" is also in red but the font is more stylish like handwriting inviting a sort of sophisticated feel.

Under the main cover line the puff reads "Survival of the fittist" this is highlighted in a red box. This colour connotes blood and the word 'survival' further implies that it's toyugh for young rappers to make it big in the music industry because they lead tough lives. But with the main image showing Lil Wayne and Baby wearing expensive it proves to the consumer that the young can make it big.

The cell lines feature a variety of different music artists specific ro the genre XXL is trying to establish (R&B/Hip-Hop) and shows interviews from artists such as Eminem and Kanye West. The wide variety of rap artists gives choice for the consumer, if one magazine reader doesn't like Kanye but loves Eminem they'll buy the magazine for that specific interview. It widens the target.

The image portrays Baby and Lil Wayne in an arm lock looking tough. They are both wearing jewels and chains to show off their bling. This 'bling' also links to the font style of the masthead.
They're covered in tattoo, it shows how tough they are but it also suggests that the two are pretty wealthy.
But we can also see that they are half naked, they're body language suggests toughness becauwse they are brave enough to make themselves look vulnerable.
However the fact that Baby's arm is over Lil Wanye's shoulder suggests homo-erotic themes and is subversives of the stereotypical Hip-Hop culture but somehow also serves as a purpose to widen XXL's audience to the gay community to boost their sales. But it can also be interpreted that Baby is a paternel figure to Lil Wayne as a sort of comeradery.