This magazine front cover is made up of a medium close up, colour photograph of a man looking straight at the camera, with his head slightly tilted to his right side. The man has a black t-shirt on with the word “unstoppable” printed on the front in white. He is also wearing a black baseball cap which is also tilted in the same direction as his head. Around his neck are two necklaces of Islamic symbols. The photographs background is plain back.
Behind the man’s head is a bold, white, san serif font masthead “VIBE” accompanied by the names of African-American celebrities, those involved with music in white whilst others are in yellow. Surrounding him are 5 cover lines and 1 puff. There is also a vertical barcode visible in the bottom left corner.
The masthead “VIBE” is defined as a feeling or a flavour which almost suggests that the magazine is full of zest and will appeal to people looking for an urban magazine with an extra kick. This idea is further supported by the san serif font used which is a fresher and more youthful font than a serif font which may be used by other magazines.
The man in the photograph (Drake) wearing mainly black and being in front of a black background could represent the magazines African - American heritage. In addition the black baseball cap also gives the idea of gangs and gang culture in hip hop, as baseball caps are usually seen as gang attire. The man’s pose is quite a “come and get me“type of pose which goes together with “unstoppable” printed on his t-shirt to represent him being at the top of his trade and challenging other rappers to match his standards. It also makes a reference to one of his pieces of music called “Unstoppable” (released in 2009).
One of the cover lines refer to Drake (the man in the photograph) being “hip-hop’s new religion”. This statement represents the magnitude of the rappers fan base and the following he has as religions are centred on icons that impact the world in a big way. This links to the t-shirt Drake is wearing as the “Unstoppable” could also symbolise his career as well as his character.
The puff on this magazine front cover reads “Resurrection, The legacy continues”. This refers to the closing down of the magazine in 2009 but recent buyers, Inter Media Partners, a private equity investment firm revitalizing it. The quote in the puff is also similar to a quote from Inter Media Partners on buying the magazine who said they "feel privileged to purchase and resurrect such a storied brand....."(Wikipedia)
The celebrities mentioned above the masthead are all of African-American decent which pushes the idea that this magazine is of black heritage and celebrates black talent.
Two of the cover lines on the front cover suggest that despite this being a music magazine it does offer alternative news and features such as sport (“Serena Strikes Back”) and Fashion (“....Cross Dressing with Amber Rose”)
Taking all of the points above into account, I believe that this magazine is targeted at black males and females, who are aged 16-25 and are up to date with the latest music and Artists.
