The full bleed image on this front cover of XXL magazine shows a mid shot of Kanye West, with the background being a cartoon/artistic representation of perhaps Paris (with elements of Japanese culture). The body language and posture of West shows that he is not afraid of much, and he is ready to top charts with his music. The colours on the front page are dominated by greens, white and yellows, this gives a connotation of purity, money (dollar bills) and gold (a cliché in the rap industry suggesting wealth). The comical, artistic representation of a city suggests that he is in control of his life, and that the city is his playground almost.
The impression the magazine gives you is very positive with bright colours (almost suggesting drug use).
Due to these impressions and representations I would say that this magazine is focused on 18-29 year olds, as the content is too adult orientated for children, it may also be less centred towards working adults.
The ethnicities focused on are mostly centred around black culture, but magazines like these can have followings of white British as well.
The fonts used are all sans serif and straight to the point in bold and, on the headline, in italics. The headline uses are unique stroke (black outline) that contrasts extremely well with both the white in 'Kanye West' and the yellow in 'Swagger like a roc star'. Notice the lack of text, yet the usage of large headlines, this suggests that the artists potentially interviewed are big things.
An interesting point is the subsequent use of 'Roc' instead of 'Rock'. On first revision this is just a misspelling to seem imformal, but on second revision this could be the slang acronym ' R.O.C' which urban dictionary gives the definition:
R.O.C.Racist of Color. A subset of Folks who categorized themselves as "of color" -- meaning non-white, never mind that white is, in fact, a color -- who have no qualms about being racist and holding ugly prejudices against others of another shade of color, or, most typically, against the white color. Sharpton, Jay-z, La Raza, & many Social Justice Warriors are but a few examples. - Urban Dictionary
Although this does give the impression of informality, it brings up various points relating to rap/hip-hop cultures, such as the apparent racism towards upcoming white rappers. This headline perhaps suggests that Kanye West is racist?..
This double page spread gives a somber tone with tungsten lighting (dark blues) this may reflect the content within the text Dark blue connotes a idea of knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness, these connotations are reinforced by the posture the artist is using. The main talent is sat with hands together in a gym looking towards the camera, this image uses a mid-shot type giving ideas of negativity.
The headings on the double page spread uses serif, this makes the text look interesting and bold, but does not necessarily suggest ease of read. The font has a old 19th century vibe towards it, the heading and the pull quote use this.
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