Music magazine feature article analysis

Analysis of the lead feature article

In Vibe’s November 2004 issue Nelly was their cover star. He also had an 8 page spread feature article in the magazine. The first double page is two images which one of which is of Nelly. It had reference to the image on the front cover with a similar image of him with black writing over his topless frame. He is making the letter ‘X’ out of his arms which is similar to the shape on the other page which had text written in it saying – “MARKED MAN he’s been called everything from a misogynist to a sell-out. Ta-nahisi Coates discovers the secret behind Nelly’s transformation from hometown bad boy to pop star. And you thought he was just another MC.” – The words MARKED MAN are in capitals and in an orange colour which contrasts the black and white background, MARKED MAN is also a play on words which in the images he is “marked” in black writing.

 The next double page is the beginning of the article which starts with a monotone image of the cover star which takes up the whole of the page. In the first page of text it has a very plain, simplistic layout which consists of just text, no images and just a white background with black text on top; the only thing that stands out on the page is the big letter ‘N’ at the beginning of the article which is larger than the other text, the ‘N’ symbolises the beginning of the article but also the artists name (Nelly). On the next page the article continues but this time it’s a less plain page with images and different coloured copy. There are images placed of Nelly in the left hand column of the page which gives a little insight into his life because there is a picture of him with a woman hugging ( comforting his sister Jacky Donahue, who seeks a bone-marrow donor) and also a very casual image of him playing sports. (At the NBA celebrity game).

In the right column there is a piece of text which is in orange compared to the black text on the rest of the article. The text states –“What we really wanted to do was challenge Nelly to think about the images he’s putting out there”- this stands out because its extracted from the article as the editor thinks it’s important and catches the reader’s attention quickly before reading the whole article.

 The next page is a black and white mid-close up of Nelly which again takes up the whole page, There is a caption in the top right hand corner which says-  THE BIGGER PICTURE “I didn’t wanna feel I had to smack you or I had to show you how much more gangsta than you I was”- The title ‘the bigger picture’ is ironic because they have used a big picture of Nelly to cover the whole page, but it’s also used to show there is more to Nelly than everyone already thinks. This is also effective since it uses some slang (e.g. gangsta, wanna) which relates to the target market of the magazine. 

On the next page of the article, the first thing that catches the eye is the black box with the title ‘Dress codes’ which is a sub-article about the style of other different rappers. There is also another piece of text that stands out because again it’s in the colour orange and it’s a section of speech chosen out of the article to catch the reader’s eye- “I told Nelly that he needed to stop talking about guns. But he wasn’t buying it. He was not buying it at all”- There is also one final image at the bottom of the page which is captioned- “Gettin cheeky with it: the move that sparked a controversy” This is another play on words since he is posing next to a woman’s butt cheek and it also portrays a stereotype of rappers with women and sex.

On the final page of the article in Vibe magazine’s issue on R&B artist Nelly, it follows the structure as the rest of the article which makes the whole article flow together. The article also ends in a few rhetorical questions which makes what they just read linger in their minds and makes them really think which is really effective because it makes the reader want to find out more and keeps them on their toes instead of them getting bored since it is a really long article compared to other double page spreads of some other artists which are more to the point, but I think the length of this article is appropriate because it has to highlight a lot of topics about the artist in one issue, which I think was compressed into a manageable and entertaining size, whilst not losing any of the context.