Both of the genres of these magazines are Hip Hop and R&B. In both magazines this is made clear from the main image, as both have iconic members of the hip hop community on the cover; The Game and Lil Wayne. Also ‘The Source’ magazine has a slogan beneath the masthead which says, ‘The Bible of Hip Hop Music’. The articles contained within the magazine are also related to hip hop, such as ‘Plies code of silence’, again an iconic member of the hip hop community.
The magazine appeals to their audience (the target audience being people interested in hip hop music), by having the main cover image of a recognisable member of the hip hop movement. In these cases, The Game and Lil Wayne are considered legends within the Hip Hop community, and this would immediately attract hip hop lovers to purchase the magazine, as the magazine has got the ‘best of the best’ to be included within the articles.
Both magazine images are similar to one another as both Lil Wayne and The Game cover the title of the magazine. This is a bold statement made by both magazines as the publishers are confident that people know the name their magazine even though its being covered.
The first image of the cover of the source magazine is quite a powerful and controversial image as it denotes an image of death and suicide. Such images would be able very eye catching to a passer by as it is uncommon to see this on a magazine and may be considered quite unethical and rebellious to post a picture with such negative connotations. The controversy surrounding the magazine cover could essentially be a unique selling point as it is bold statement made by the rap artist which many may feel curious to read up on.
The second magazine cover of Lil Wayne has some enigma surrounding the image as there has been an intentional use of lighting which creates a shadow across his face. This shadow across his face may imply the he has a dark side, or something to hide. The use of this shadow covers the left side of his face, and therefore shows more focus on the right side of his face, specifically his tear tattoos. In gang culture, by tattooing tears beneath ones eyes means that they’ve killed somebody in their past. This also adds to the controversy of the magazine cover as such a sinister individual is on the cover, which may also attract readers to read up on him.
