My front page image connotes a determined young artist. I wanted his pose to be almost aggressive to show his want to succeed in the music industry. I based my front cover image on this Vibe cover because I think it looks very effective. I used simple props because the facial expression captures the whole image. The main prop I added was the flat peak cap. I chose to use it because its very common in R&B magazines and lots of artists sport them.
I chose to have a running head because every magazine I researched featured one. This one is from Vibe magazine I chose to have mine very similar to this because I like the way it is simple and fills up unwanted gaps. The names used are famous R&B artist giving even the front cover an R&B focus. I used capitals to connote importance to the names putting them in a red font.
Another thing I did, similar to Vibe magazine was that I used a pull quote next to the main image. Having a pull quote I believe makes the reader more intrigued to read on. Using this feature it mean't I could give the front page model more of a personality to their look which is what R&B magazines do. 
I decided to add a 'Upcoming Artist' profile to my contents page because in real R&B magazines they advertise free downloads for mix-tapes so I thought this would give a more real effect. I think it gives my magazine a more recognisable feel to R&B because the models dressed very urban and I wrote a small introduction to the artists letting the reader know what type of music each artist produced. I put the images and writing box's at an angle to draw more attention to that specific area. Another feature I added was to have a top 10 R&B of the week because it specifies the genre of the magazine. Most magazines I researched had a feature similar to this whether it was top albums or music video's ect.
On my double page spread I decided to use a quote from the model to give the page a more personal feel. R&B magazines are very informal giving a quote makes it more recognisable to the genre. I used an inspirational quote for mine because I think it fits with the bled image. The imaged I used is very fitting with the genre due to the fact it originated from Rhythm and blues from Africa. I tried to use models of ethnic minority because most artists from this genre are seen to be of that ethnicity. I used the quote as the title of the page because I think it descibed the article well enough. I think it would've been better if I had pulled the quote from the interview however I did not. Another feature I used was a small title in the top right hand corner to show the reader exactly what the contents of the article would be. I got this idea from another magazine however it was a Pop magazine but I think this feature doesn't give the magazine a specific genre. I believe using this feature did challenge the conventions but I wanted a more direct title rather than just a quote. Using a large amount of writing on the double page spead could've also been seen as challenging the conventions because most magazines of this genre have very limited writing but with it being an interview it is more informal and interesting to the target audience who enjoy to learn about different R&B artists. All of the fronts I used were sans serif because the magazines I researched all didn't feature them. 
When thinking of poses I researched to see what props and things I could use in the images. I have considered using musical instruments however it wouldn't connote the RnB image. I am going to have a black and white image for the front cover because I think it is quite striking with a good model. A B&W image can be quite striking making the shadows bold. 
