Rap-Up front cover

For my third magazine front cover analysis i chose Rap up as it is different to the other two i have analysed. Unlike Q and NME the masthead is in the centre at the top of the page. It is in bold black print which attracts the reader and furthermore tells the reader the genre of the magazine and in this case, rap. To make the title more fun and to play on words the 'U' in the title has been extended up into an arrow pointing upwards. I would say the colour theme of this magaine is quite plain mostly black, white and silver with splashes of bright colours such as pink, orange and yellow. The three girls featured on the front are Keri Hilson, Solange Knowles and Teyana Taylor. They are described as ‘The R&B chicks of the moment’ which indicated to the reader that these girls are new to the R&B industry and are currently quite well known and popular. Solange Knowles is featured on the front cover this makes the reader interested to read as it is her sister Beyonce that is normally on the cover of music magazines. To help make the girls stand out they are wearing items of bright retro clothing. All of the colours they are wearing fit in with the colour scheme as Keri Hilson in the middle is wearing black and white and just one black glove tying in with the main black and white theme. Solange Knowles is wearing one leg orange and one leg yellow fitting in with the background highlighted colour of the names of Teyana Taylor and Keri Hilson she is also wearing silver which ties in with the colour theme. Teyana Taylor is wearing black, white and silver the main colours of the front cover. Also wearing hints of pink on her top and the glove which matched the highlighted background colour of Solange Knowles name and little details on the front cover such as the arrows at the top seperating the names of the artists that will be featured in the magazine, the word 'summer' and the + sign down the bottom of the page. She is also wearing orange shoe laces. The 3 main artists as we can see match the colour scheme really well making the front cover match really well. Seeing as this is a summer edition the colours used help to give it a summery and bright feel. Although bright colours have been used on the girls, the background is black white and fading to grey/silver on the right side, this emphasises the colours used on the girls helping them to stand out and attract the readers. Although the girls have been made to look similar using the same colours but are clearly all different with their type of clothing and positioning. The layout of the front cover is different to the others i have analysed as it is kept very plain and simple. It is easy on the eyes for readers and this may appeal to some readers as it is easy to read and less busy and complicated. This very simple effect could make the magazine seem mysterious to readers and want to read the magazine as they are not informed of every detail of what will be featured in the magazine. There are a few small sell lines advertising the names of the Celebrities that will appear throughout, ‘Rick+Ross, N.E.R.D, Leona Lewis, Flo Rida’. These are written in plain font just as plain as the front cover and capital letters this could be as it makes it easy to read and thats obviously what they want to acheive or it could be to make the sell lines more important and capital letters make text stand out more. Although this magazine has sell lines telling the names of the celebrities featured in the magazine, they may not be enough to make a reader want to read on. For example other magazines usually have sell lines with either rhetorical questions, unfinished advise or sentences that can only be understood properly if the reader reads the whole article inside the magazine, they usually include '...' after the end of the sentence as a teaser making the reader feel the need to continue what they started to read.