Music Magazine analysis - Rolling Stones (Tupac Shakur)

- The magazine I have purchased is produced by 'Rolling Stones'. The style of font used in the masthead reinforces the theme of hip-hop as the colour brown and font resembles that of graffiti on a wall. This symbolises the more traditional element to hip-hop where disobeying the law is seen as a way of expressing deliberate disobedience. The image of ‘Tupac Shakur‘overlaps the masthead. This once again underlines the fact that ‘Tupac’is the focal point of the magazine. This could be down to the fact that his life was hugely controversial and having his image would help the magazine get noticed on the shelves as he was internationally known. The front cover consists of a dark theme, including colours such as Brown and Black. This helps outline Tupac's dark and enigmatic personality, which is generally associated with rappers. He, like ‘baby’ and ‘lil Wayne’, is shown shirtless. This again underlines the fact that the director wanted him to look more masculine, showing off the many tattoos on his body. There is also an element of sex appeal because he is exposing his nakedness to the taste of women and homosexuals.  'Tupac' is not wearing any jewelry and this could suggests that the director also wanted to show a subtle side to the rapper. His poise is key in this image. He looks to have his hands behind his back as if he were being handcuffed. This links to the origin of hip-hop were the genre was developed from young black males in the USA feeling oppressed by the police, also 'Tupac' himself had many problems with law and authority.This could also suggests that he is sticking to the fundamentals of hip-hop culture and this pose helps make him look a victim of society not only that, he appeals to urban society's were it is seen as 'gangster' to oppose the police. The result of this is that it causes 'Tupac' to look more powerful dominant and imposing.