Friday 29 January 2016
DRAFT ARTICLE
As of recent years the sound of hip-hop has transformed drastically
with the reimbursed influence of jazz and lyrical powerhouses. With artists such as
Kendrick Lamar and J Cole enforcing this sound and cleverly weaving the
sound of funk heavily into Hip-Hop , young Chicago rapper Joel Okaga has followed
in their footsteps and took the game by storm with his debut album ‘Lone that
has received the praise from many critics as well as Hip-Hop Great Dr. Dre.
RENGADE were able to gains some insight into the artist’s life with an
interview.
What’s up man? Glad to have you here.
Yeah, great to be on man, this is kinda surreal you know! I mean, I
remember just a couple years ago I was you know watching other guys in the
game, huge guys getting interview by like Ebro and Big Boy and now I’ve made it
to where it’s me in the shoe of some of my idols.
That’s awesome. So what’s this sudden rush to fame been
like? I mean you’re 21 years old and released this album that people like Dre
have complimented.
I’m still trying to process it honestly. I just want to create
music for myself really, I love music and I decide to share it and I guess it just picked up to the point that I'm at now.
And how did Dr Dre pick up on it?
*laughs* I have no clue but when I heard what he said I was wilding
out for like two days straight, true story, cuz you know that one of my damn
Idols as a kid the stories about his production just motivated me to make music
and actually be picky about what is in and out.
Yeah man, I mean you created this album In like what, a
month? That’s insane.
Na, I think that’s just a rumour, all the tracks and the beats,
instruments and all that, I've produced progressively since I was about 16-17 years old and
I wanted to make something that was just awesome music.. I woke up got ready, went to high
school got back and started working on a track. That was my routine for like
2-3 years.
So that was just a hobby or intended to release it?
Oh yeah a hobby definitively but then I got to the point I had like
over 200 songs recorded and I decided to just pick out some, edit them a little
and just went for it you know. But it was always a hobby to start.
200 track!? that's a lot and you only have 16 on the Album. would you use the others on future albums?
Well, it would depend on the fit really, if it fits with he story I wanna tell, then I would use it. I honestly do want to like slap a bunch of shit in a playlist and sell it, because it would be a waste of material.
What’s your opinion of the rap game at the moment and the
state its in?
Honestly, Its getting back to the good days, the game is starting
to have meaning again which was one thing I thought kinda sucked about it
before. It was dope must but like most cats were saying the same shit over and
over and over to the point that you just get tired of it. But the last what? 10
years has honestly been a reinvention, we have these awesome artists that are
super talent had force this feeling into you when you listen; there is some
true meaning to it, and I love that the most. The fact you help some kid out and help them out through some hard times is what I love about the music.
Who’s your favourite in the game at the moment?
Oh without a doubt, Kendrick. He is a pure genius. The fact he has
an album like his last that you would have to construct like a book just shows
his talent. Like some To Kill a Mockingbird shit *laughs* but most of all I like his approach. He isn't your typical out there guy, he's very personal, to himself and with his music he has these kids listening to him and he takes the opportunity education them with his music.
So what is next for you? Got anything else
planned for the year?
I’m just gonna keep working man, I love what I do and I just want
to continue with making music really. But besides that I got invited to perform
at a couple of places so that should be fun. But honestly, I wanna just soak this experience in really.
Thursday 28 January 2016
Tuesday 26 January 2016
Thursday 21 January 2016
Friday 15 January 2016
Photographers/Designers : Brent Rollins
When I was looking at examples of magazine covers I fell in love with the design of Complex magazine. The simplicity of their covers prove that 'less is more'. Therefore when it came to researching photographers/designer I leaped at the opportunity to learn more about Complex's photographers/designers.
Brent Rollins is the Creative Director at Complex Magazine and is known for his talent in Graphic Design. As well as working on magazine covers, Rollins has had the opportunity to create promotional posters, Album Artwork, Logos (Such as Critically Acclaimed movie - Boyz in The Hood, Billboards, Advertisements and more. After looking at much of his work it is clear that they are all either include bright and vivid colour or had an attractive colour contrast such as (black and white)
Here are some examples of Brent Rollins' work:
Publishing Institution Analysis
Bauer Media Group is a media company based in Hamburg, Germany than manage over 600 different magazines worldwide. The company was founded in 1875. The CEO of the company Yvonne Bauer owns 85% of the company and is the firth generation to lead Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media group publish some of the most well known music magazines such as Q Magazine and Kerrang! which have had large amounts of success. As well as magazines Bauer Media Group deals with 50 radio and TV stations and 400 digital products around the world. This shows the experience the the company has. I believe that Bauer Media group would be the ideal company to publish Renegade. Due to the experience and names that Bauer has helped previously they could help my magazine become a success.
Photographer/Designer Research : Terry Richardson
Terry Richardson is an American portrait photographer that is highly praised for his work. The photographer has done work with a numerous amount of well known celebrities (Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Tyler, the Creator and Barack Obama), for a number of well known magazines (i-D, Vibe, GQ, Rolling Stone and Vogue).
Richardson is well known for using a white background to photograph the subject of his work which looks professional and attractive while gaining the attention on the subject. some of his work is released in black and white which in my opinion looks good and appealing also. The photographer is also well know for releasing provocative themed portraits of many celebrity shoots including ones with Rihanna and Kate Upton. however this is not always the case.
The style in which the shots Richardson takes are appealing and could suit my style of magazine. however, I believe that there could be other styles that are much more focused on what I want to achieve with Renegade.
Here are some examples of his work:
Magazine Title
The title that I have chosen for
my magazine is the word 'Renegade'. The decision of this title was my first
initial idea which after attempting to think of more choices all fell short in
comparison, such as 'RUN' and 'III'. These titles simply did not have the bold
impact I wanted and also they did not sound as good when said.
The definition of Renegade
is:
1. One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.
2. An outlaw; a rebel.
The second definition in
particular struck me for some reason and thought it would fit the themes of a
Hip-Hop magazine.
The second definition in
particular struck me for some reason and thought it would fit the themes of a
Hip-Hop magazine. Also I simply think the word 'Renegade' is sound amazing and
therefore a good title. Ironically, there is a song by Hip-Hop Artists Jay-Z
and Eminem entitled 'Renegade' also which applied further emphasis on my
choice of title.
Audience Profile
The audience profile that I will aim my magazine at will be a audience of primarily 16-30 year old males. The music that my audience will primarily listen to is Hip-Hop/Rap music and listen to many artist that are considered 'mainstream'. My audience will have a interest in sub-genres of Hip-Hop such as Jazz-Rap, Hip-Hop Soul as well as the traditional Hip-Hop genre that is well known for its poetic lyricism. Some artists that they listen to include:
Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, Eminem, Chance, The Rapper, Tyler, The Creator, Anderson.Paak, Kanye West and more.
The clothing that my audience would wear involves:
- Fitted clothing that is not baggy
- Branded products (Nike, New Era, Adidas, etc.) - although this may not be needed depending on the shots taken for the magazine.
- Fit jeans of light blue or black. these type of trousers.
- simplistic clothing with not too much going on
- fitted T-Shirts, hoodies, jumper
Magazine Genre and Language Register
Based on my research I have
decided that I will create a Hip-Hop magazine. I have decided on this genre as
it consists of the music that I have and interest and knowledge in that area. I
believe that because of my knowledge I will be able to deliver and professional
looking magazine. It also helps that I
have been influenced by magazines such as Complex, Billboard, XXL and Fader.
These magazines have covered a of number of Hip-Hop artists in which I can take
inspiration from.
For a hip hop magazine, the
language register that I choose will involve Standard English for the most part
however, slang and jargon will most likely be used in some areas. However, the amount is dependent on the type
of artist that will be used. After
researching a number of various magazines I have decided that I want to
incorporate an interview in my article. I have chosen to use an interview as a
way to get a closer understanding of the artist from their point of view and
gain their opinions on certain matters.
Thursday 14 January 2016
Fonts
When researching fonts, I used
the font website dafont.com. using this website, I browsed over many different
fonts and recorded down my favourites that I believed would suit the genre and
style of magazine as my masthead. I was able to narrow my favourites down to 9 different font style. By having this choice, I will have the ability to use
these options when it comes to creating my magazine.
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