Rap/R'n'B Artists

Using google I researched on a couple of the successful Rap/R'n'B/HipHop artists to get a good understanding of an Rap/R'n'B/HipHop artist.

Drake whose full name is 'AUBREY DRAKE GRAHAM' was born on the 24th October 1986. He grew up in Canada and was discovered from a very early age playing the character Jimmy Brooks on a television series - Degrassi: The Next Generation. Around June 2009 the known rapper Lil Wanye signed Drake to his record label (Young Money Entertainment). The following year (June 15) Drake released his 'THANK ME LATER' album and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the album has since gone platinum. 

Review of two songs from Drake's latest album

We start with ‘Over My Dead Body‘ immediately entering the world of Drake, with soft piano chords cushioned by a steady filtered beat where a female sampled vocal leads the hook. Drake immediately touches on ‘Find Your Love’ model Maliah Michel claiming he thought she was the girl of his dreams, but we know that never worked. Instrumentally ’40′ has provided Drake with a door of honesty and humbleness to spit his verses over, which adds to his meaningful words. This track really delivers to listeners where Drake believes he is now is, telling us a story of his thoughts, from the joy of being taxed six figures to the feeling of ‘killing everybody in the game last year’ the most iconic line being “I think maybe I was numb to it last year, but you know I feel it now more than ever” highlighting the chronic effect of fame and fortune.

‘Shot For Me‘, for the first time we get to see the fruits of Drake’s vocal talent, immediately entering the song with a more high pitched approached, most likely influenced by Abel Tesfaye, better know as ‘The Weeknd’. Drake juxtaposes our views by arrogantly yet softly telling the girls in question ‘Alicia’ and ‘Catya’ that nobody will ever give them what he did. He enforces regret on them, and definitely shows his dominance expressing his bravado by stating that he is ‘the man’ “B***h I’m the man, yeah i said it, I’m the man”. Telling them that he is written all over the girls, and reminding them that they are listening to him because he knows they are going to hear this. The hook relates to Drake demanding they take a ‘shot’ for him, for the simple reason that he’s made it and they let him go. Drake’s retro style singing is a charming and modest approach to express his vocal talent, as he has stated many times that he is not the greatest of singers, however he overpowers the listener with outstanding melodies that will stick in their minds and are likely to be sung or repeated by the individual, music is easier to relate to if one can regurgitate what is being said, and Drake utilizes this in all of his songs. He is just simply a relative artist.

Rick Ross whose full name is 'WILLIAM LEONARD ROBERT' was born on the 28th January 1976. He derived his stage name from a drug trafficker 'Freeway Ricky Ross' (although there are no connections between him and the man). Ross founded his own record label (Maybach Music Group) on which he released his studio albums Deeper than Rap and Teflon Don. In early 2012, MTV named Rick Ross as the 'HOTTEST MC IN THE GAME'

Inside look at Rick Ross latest mixtape
(a few strong words)

Target audience

The target audience for my magazine will 16 - 26 year olds who love/interested in Rap and R'n'B music. I choose the age range because from generations to generations the love/interest in R'n'B and Rap music has started to gain the interest of younger years. However this particular age range of my target audience incorporate individuals that are not only interested in Rap/R'n'B music but interested in it to the extent of buying a magazine of its genre. Moreover I believe the age ranging from 16-26 are people interested enough to buy my magazine and may look up to artists such as these:-

Time Management

During the construction of my magazine, time management was very important to me. In order to help with my time management, the construction was split up into five parts which made it easier for me to complete my magazine.


Monday 5th December - Photos for front page, contents and DPS
Friday 14th January - Front Page complete
Friday 27th January - Contents
Friday 3rd February - DPS article draft 
February 27th - DPS complete.


Theses deadlines helped me to review whether I was being efficient enough with my time. Although I must admit keeping to some of the deadlines seemed harder than I thought (due to me carelessly losing my USB a couple of times). Also the first deadline out of the all five of them was the most hardest because my model was in university and was in his exams season, moreover it cost me around eighteen pounds, fifty-six to travel from my house to his university. Also because I wanted to make sure all the images I take come out very vibrant and detailed in colour, I used my friend canon camera. However in order to get the camera I had to wait three days as she does a photography course therefore her camera was unavailable to me, and that took up a lot of my time. Altogether the deadline did give a good structure, and contributed very well to my time management.

Clothing

Once I have chosen my models the next important to do was to sort out their outfits. I was able to figure this out from what I had seen other models/artists where on front covers of R'n'B and Rap magazines - urban style. The urban style has become very popular in particular the trainers in shops such as Footlocker, JD, whereas the clothing has become popular in shops such as Blue Ink etc. However because the theme of my magazine issue is 'identifying the business man behind every successful rapper' I would need to incorporate two types of style, one would be urban and the other smart.


I believe the best artist/group to get the urban look from is a group called 'NEW BOYZ'. Their style and fashion very vibrant and to me definitely stands out, plus they put a lot of thought and confidence into their style. Using Google I found background information on their style/fashion, here is a short clip on how they describe their type of fashion - 'jerkin'


Loungin with the New Boyz: Jerkin Fashion #3

New Boyz | Myspace Music Videos

 In order to get the business look, using Google I researched on the entrepreneur P Diddy whose dress code is all about the elegant, sophisticated look. Here is a short clip that describes his fashion and fashion line. (Watch 1.20 - 4.10).




Overall from all the information I found I would like to dress up my model in a tailored suit and then dress them in the 'jerkers' style incorporating things such as a snap etc. Then find a way to merge the two styles together.

Double Spread Page Spread - Overall View

A double page spread is the iconic feature of a magazine, as it what a majority of the readers  would look at first. It usually contains information about the artist/band, what they do in their spare time. It tries to reveal to the reader what the artist/band would not reveal to any other magazine, it also occupied with images, be it one or more than one there is always an image.

• Vibe Magazine

From my research Vibe tends to go with the simple layout of a magazine, making it look neat and professional. Majority of the times the editors tend to do articles rather than interviews. The few times which they did publish an interview it was during where that certain artist/band would have something going on with them in which they assume their target audience would want to know. I love the consistence of the font and the use of baseline it really gives the article a fresh clean cut to it. 

• NME Magazine

Out of all the magazine I looked at the layout of NME was my favorite, it really embedded the name of the article into its feature which I think is a unique good way to structure out an article. The colour scheme is very simple which with all the shapes and effect used it very necessary and in some ways balances out the article. 

• Q Magazine

Q magazine double-double page spread, is very creative as it avoids the article looking like there too much text. Out off all the magazines I researched I felt Q magazine had the overall package of a successful magazine. I liked the way the colour scheme of the front page with the featured artist linked in very well with the double-double page spread. 

Double Page Spread - Q

•  This double page spread is majority article and with a small section which is an interview.
• Q magazine has done two double page spread for Coldplay, the first double page spread is dominated by an image of the band but with one column while the second double page spread is dominated by article and interview with a few images 

First Double page Spread 

Double Page Spread - Vibe

The double page spread is split into three sections which usual layout for a double page spread starting with a drop cap, however it spread out in an unusual way. Usually the image is always placed first then the text comes after or the first page is just a image of the artist/band with no text. The editor has opted for a article rather than an interview, which readers would definitely draw in the type of people who enjoy reading. Moreover the usual but unusual layout is for the individuals who dislike reading a lot of text; having a pull quote (Bold|Font-Sans Serif|Colour-Red) at the beginning of the article  'I KINDA HAVING SOME FAKE PERSONA WOULD NEVER WORK...I GREW UP ON TELEVISION. GOOGLE ME. MY WORST HAIRSTYLES AND WORST OUTFITS, IT'S ALL DOCUMENTED' encourages those individuals to not only read on but to actually Google the artist to see whether the quote is true. Additionally the pull quote acts a drip feed as gives the reader a quick inside on Drake's realistic personality. 


Next the body text has four columns, the editor uses a baseline which makes the article look neat and professional - the paragraphs begin and end at the same level. Also the consistence of the font (Sans-Serif) also shows professionalism and neatness. 

The article present two different images of the artist (Drake), one is him casually dressed, seems like his very relaxed in his comfort zone, his facial expression, looking down giving the reader the impression he has a playful, shy side to him. In some ways he is interacting with the readers regardless of him not directly looking at the camera, the playful, shy facial expression makes his presence seem realistic which readers can relate to. The second image, Drake looks more of a work state, his facial expression serious, the background of the studio and him smoking a cigar not only shows you how the work ethnics is in the music industry but it shows Drake's adaption to the music industry and the Hip Hop culture. Also the second image is de-saturated while the first image is not, which shows the serious and simple nature of Drake. 

Double Page Spread - NME

In this double page spread the images dominate majority of the page. The way the images are presented are very important, for example the posture of the band members presented (left) mimic the meaning of the article - teenagers. I found that NME went with the stereotype of teenagers, the carefree personality, drunken, partying behavior. This is shown through the images in the background, and the posture in which they are lying in; gives you the impression they are lazy just like every other stereotypical teenager. The colour scheme is very simple (Black|White|Blue) - put together they become quite attractive colours and they grab your attention and the colour blue itself conveys coolness and fits in with the laid back attitudes of teenagers. Also the simplicity of the colour scheme stops the spread from looking overcrowded, which encourages the reader to read on for it does not to long to read. 

The editor has chosen a long article which contains the history of the band and bands which our similar to this band featured, there is also highlighted quotes which the editor assumes would draw in their target audience. Doing an article rather than an interview like ordinary magazines - e.g Q moreover it would just attract people who enjoying reading.However that does not apply to everyone nonetheless the factual box (placed on the image) is a unique way to incorporate the rest of the people who do not enjoy reading, as now have something short, simple, interesting to read than the long article. Additionally the effect the editor used making the factual box look like a ripped out piece of paper makes the reader feel like the band personal created that box. In addition NME put their signature stamp on the image - The red box at the bottom of the page (the same red as the logo NME) contains their website which is a good selling point as they interact with their readers not only through their magazine but online on their website. Also above there is a shape that says 'NME loves' this shows the support of the band by NME moreover encouraging readers to buy their album since NME likes them.

Hip Hop and R&B

Hip Hop and R&B are a dance, a type of culture and basically music. 


R&B

R&B is the abbreviation of rhythms and blues. It was originated in the 1940s, a popular African American music. Originally the term R&B was just a word used by record companies used to describe recordings that was predominately marketed to urban African Americans during the times that urbane, jazz and rocking based music, which contained vibrant, insistent beats were becoming very popular. 

Over a period of time the term of R&B subsequently kept shifting in meaning. Around the early 1950s, R&B was frequently applied just to blues records. During the mid-1950s (in which this genre of music contributed to development of Rock and Roll), R&B was used to refer to styles of music that developed and incorporated gospel, soul music and electric blues. Eventually by the 1970-80s the newer style of R&B were developed and it became known as contemporary R&B.


Hip Hop 
Hip Hop is a form of musical expression that not originated from African-American but Hispanic-American communities during the 1970s (New York - Bronx). There is four main pillars to Hip Hop: MCing|DJing|B-Boying and graffiti writing. Graffiti may seem like an odd pillar to hold Hip Hop, however the relationship between Hip Hop and graffiti arises from the appearance of new and elaborate forms of the practice in areas where other elements of Hip Hop were evolving as art forms. In our modern society graffiti remains part of Hip Hop, while crossing into the mainstream art world with renowned exhibits in galleries throughout the world. Since its emergence (South Bronx), the culture of Hip Hop has spread both urban and suburban communities throughout the world. 


The first emergence of Hip Hop was with a disc jockey (above right-side) which created rhythmic beats by looping breaks on two turn tables. This was later accompanied by Rap. 

Top Twenty Gadgets 2011

Trying to adapt my magazine to modern technology, can be quite tricky because I am aware that using too many gadgets in my magazine could have my readers mistake my Hip Hop and Rap magazine for a IT magazine. Moreover I need to research and find out what are the best selling gadgets of 2011. Nonetheless using google I came up with the 'Top Ten Gadgets 2011'

1. Ipad 2
2. XBox Kinect
3. Macbook Air
4. HP/Palm TouchPad
5. Amazon Kindle 3
6. Motorola Atrix 4G
7. Blackberry Playbook 
8. Motorola Xoom
9. HP/Palm Pre 3
10. Samsung Focus 

From this list I picked out the gadgets that could:-

• Easily be available
• Easily fit in with the genre of my magazine 
• Not deter the focus from my artist

This resulted in me picking:-

• Ipad 2
• Blackberry Playbook
• Macbook Air

Next I research on the statistics of the products; how much have been sold so far in 2011, how much do you think they will sell in 2012? ....According to Wikipedia:-

• Ipad - More than 15.4 Million Ipads have been sold, selling more than all other tablet PCs combined - Apple sold 300,00 Ipads on the day they first became available. This all generated to 9.5 billion dollars (6.1 billion pounds) in revenue and captured more than 90% market share in the tablet computer segment. By 2012 Apple would have released 'The new Ipad'. 
• Blackberry Playbook - It has been estimated that there are 504,000 Playbooks have been sold to date. 
• Macbook Air - In January Apple reported to have sold 2.9 million Macs. 

From all the information I had gathered, it was clear to me that an Ipad would be the best electronic gadget to use in my magazine.