Front Page Analysis - Hip-Hop Soul

The masthead is large and chunky making it stand out and eye catching for the consumer. The colour of the font in black and white which connotes purity suggesting that soul music is pure or easy to listen to.

The main cover line is a link the main image (R. Kelly). The typography used for the main cover line is also big and and sort of stylish in italics which suggests that this artists music is "cool" or stylish. The main cover line also gives off that sophisticated feel to it implying that this magazine is trying to attract a more mature audience. The reason the main cover line is big is because it attracts consumers to the magazine. R. Kelly may be their favourite artist and would initially buy the magazine for his interview.

There is also a little quotation from R. Kelly saying "Music is my shield." which implies that hip-hop/soul music is a sort of relief from the stresses of life, it is a "shield from reality" as a for of escapism. This serves as a purpose to attract audiences also as many people (although the Soul genre may be niche) are fans of this genre and a quote from an actually artist they listen to saying something they can actually relate makes that person feel special and a sort of empathy is created.

R. Kelly may be the main cover line an interview for this issue but there are several cell lines available on the page stating interviews from different artists. So if the consumer doesn't really like R. Kelly they can always read about another artist within the magazine, maybe Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone. So the range of artists provide choice for the consumer because all the artists interviewed are of the soul/jazz/blues/hip-hop genre which allows the consumer to broaden their artist favourite list maybe discovering an artist they had never heard of before. The artists name is also emphasised in a bold font to make it further stand out.

Now to the main image which depicts R. Kelly and a girl hugging him. The way he postured sort of portrays dominance suggesting he runs things and the girl follows which if sort stereotypical within the Hip-Hop genre where woman are almost illustrated as sex objects. This is further emphasise by the fact that we cannot see anything other than her head and arm, perhaps she's naked. However it can also be argued that the way she hugging him with her eyes closed also suggests that the music genre of soul can be soothing and calm and easy to listen to.
R. Kelly is dressed almost entirely in white which links to the colour scheme of the masthead and also further connoting the hip-hop/soul genre as pure and easy listening.

His posture with his hands crossed like that can also be mistaken or interpreted as religious maybe crossing over to the Gospel music genre further widening their audience.

R. Kelly also appears to be wearing long chains and a shiny watch or "bling" which can be stereotypical of the RnB/Hip-Hop genre. These jewels imply wealth and luxury also typical of the Hip-Hop genre. R. Kelly himself is black or African/American. The majority of Black artists are mainly involved within the Soul/Hip-Hop genre so the consumer can instantly spot this cover from a mile away and identify what genre this magazine is selling without even looking at the masthead.

To conclude, the various different techniques this magazine is using these include the use of Black artists, the cell lines, the clothes and jewellery and the masthead all serve a purpose to attract different types of audiences thus gaining a grand consumer output and maximising their profit.