Create production materials (U3: P4, M3)

Learning Outcome 3 (U3): Be able to create production materials for an original media product to a client brief (P4, M3)

Body copy
I wrote the body copy as a question and answer so everyone could get a good idea about the type of person M.B Amba is. Furthermore, I used a lot of different topics in the questions to get a wider understanding of her. I used modern, informal language so it be easier for the younger readers to understand and connect with what is being said. Informal language also suits the genre of music. Rap music has always been about language coming from the streets, so the informal text of the body copy follows these codes and conventions.


NoLoRap caught up with the new and upcoming artist M.B Amba to find out all the secret information about why she is so loved by everyone. M.B Amba had a difficult home life growing up, due to her dad leaving the family home in Enfield, North London. She spoke to us about her inspirational mum and all to do with the music business.

Q: At what age did you know you wanted to become a rap artist, and why?
A: For my 9th birthday, my mum bought me a microphone and a guitar. Those were definitely the best presents I ever received and they changed my life forever. Of course, I'm a rap artist now but when I first started playing I played acoustic pieces on my guitar and sang my own lyrics on top of them. After around two years of doing this I listened to the song Jocelyn Flores by xxxtentacion who was assassinated in June. This style of music was something I had never heard before. It was rapping, but singing with a guitar at the same time and it was something truly amazing. After listening to this song, I realised that this is the style I wanted to make music to. At the age of 12 I knew that this is what I wanted my life to be about. Rapping, singing and playing guitar. My three favourite things in life.

Q: What do you think makes you different to other artists in the industry?
A: I would say that I am actually very similar to other artists in the industry but I am one of the lucky ones who got noticed. In my opinion, there are much better singers and rappers than me that are too shy to actually come out of their shell and perform in front of people. I had a fan come up to me in the street the other day and asked if she could sing for me. She sang like I've never heard a girl of her age sing before so I asked her how long she'd been singing for. The girl said that this was her first ever time singing outside of her house. I think that more focus needs to be on the talent of the younger generation as opposed to the majority of artists who use autotune and can't sing properly. Oh, and of course, I don't use autotune and I rap freely with my own voice so I guess that's is what separates me from the other artists in this industry.

Q: How can you create a positive stigma around the genre of rap?
A: I believe that there isn't a negative stigma around the genre of rap but main stream media have made it look and sound like there is a horrible atmosphere around it all. Most of us rap artists are only trying to give out a message and it's our way of escaping the world as it is. By creating music, and of course I speak on behalf of most rap artists similar to me, we are creating masterpieces for the rest of the world to admire and a motto for our fanbases to follow.

Q: How do you manage to balance your lifestyle considering you are the leader of the North London Mental Health Trust?
A: To be honest with you, you would be surprised with how much free time I actually have. I'm in the studio 4-5 hours a day and then the rest of the day I just do whatever I please. I usually spend 2-3 hours a day in the mental health trust just helping around cleaning, cooking and sometimes performing. I really enjoy knowing that other people are getting good use out of what I do in my life. It's so rewarding. After I leave from there I go home to my mum, watch a movie with them or something and then eat dinner and go to bed. It's the dream lifestyle isn't it.

Q: How have your personal struggles helped you to achieve what you have achieved so far?
A: That's a very interesting question. Ever since my dad left I learnt to be extremely independent and I enjoyed doing everything alone. This actually came as an advantage to me after all the bullying I used to receive. During this time of my life, I just wrote my own music with no distractions for hours on end because for me, it was a way of getting away from all of the stress of my life around me. In a way, I would thank my bullies for making me who I am.

Q: What inspired you to have your unique sense of fashion?
A: Well, I've always wanted to be different and stand out from the crowd. If you aren't unique then aren't we all the same? From a young age I started dressing differently from everyone else and I used to get bullied for it but now I'm older and all the people around are more mature, they admire me and value my fashion sense. As I'm sure you're aware, I have many sponsorship deals with clothing brands and because of this all of my social media pages are growing, meaning that my unique way of dressing is becoming more available to other people as well. It's astounding how sticking to what you enjoy doing can get you so far in life.

Q: Finally, what advise would you give to young musicians who are thriving to become a top artist?
A: To all you young people out there who want to become a musician, the only advice I can give is don't ever change who you are based on the people that you meet in your life. You just have to keep doing what you love doing and never give on what you love.


My original images
I had MB Amba dress up in a hoodie and jeans as I believe this could look a little bit intimidating with the hood up. As well as this, the pose she is making with the shoe against the wall suggests she is waiting for something and she is comfortable in her surroundings. She has quite an empty expression on her face which would show the audience or whoever is looking at her that she is intimidating and shouldn't be messed with. In this photo, I would only be showing her head so the location around isn't particularly important, but the white background is important because this shows purity and cleanliness.

I will not be using the image above as although she looks somewhat intimidating, she also looks a bit uncomfortable and it is a very awkward stance. Generic codes and conventions of the rap genre include self-confidence. It is important for rappers to project this image. Rap battles, for example, are a little like boxing matches, where nobody wants to back down or shown weakness.

I have chosen the photo above to be the image that I use for my front cover as I believe it is the most intimidating picture out of them all. As well as this, the model looks very confident whereas in some of the other pictures she looks a bit timid. This best suits my magazine as rap can be seen as a very confrontational genre of music so by using this image, it further portrays the genre of rap.

I won't be using the image above as firstly, her eyes are half shut and secondly I feel as if a photo with her hood up would better suit my genre. Hoodies are often associated with the rap genre. Having the hood up is often used to hide somebody's identity, and there has often been a link between rap and illegal activities.

I decided to use the image I mentioned above because I believe that compared to the other pictures, my model looks most suited to be in a rap magazine.

I have chosen to use the image above because the mise-en-scene is edgy and the lighting source is low-key, which follows the codes and conventions of the rap genre. I had the model wear a Revenge hoodie. Revenge is a clothing brand that has a lot of connections with the rap genre. Revenge collaborated with the rapper xxxtentacion for this hoodie, so fans of the genre will be familiar with the brand, and will automatically link it to the genre. Therefore, using this hoodie follows the codes and conventions of the genre.

This images above are of me taking the photo for my front cover. I used a camera and a tripod to make sure I got the best quality and most still photo I could have got.

I kept all of the photos and evidence in one folder so that I know where they all are at one time.

Setting up the templates

This is evidence of me setting up my front cover as A4 on Photoshop.

This is evidence of me setting up my double page spread as A3 on Photoshop and rotating it.

The way that my actress is standing makes her look like a very sassy and intimidating individual. This is suitable to my genre of rap because a lot of rap artists are seen to be very scary and humiliating. An example of where I have used this is in my final photo of MB Amba where she is pulling a very dominant stance. This relates to a lot of examples in other rap magazines where there is an individual pulling a similar stance which could give her a powerful representation to the audience. 

As well as this, the conversation between the interviewer and MB Amba is extremely informal as it is a smoothly flowing conversation. If the conversation sounded more structured and put together then it wouldn't fit in with the usual calm and relaxed way that rap artists talk to each other. For example,' Rapping, singing and playing guitar' is used in a very informal manner and this is shown by the use of listing mid sentence. 

Lastly, the way that MB Amba is dressed suits the codes and conventions as she looks very intimidating with her hood up and with her tracksuit bottoms. Most rap artists would wear something similar to this as it is the generic look. In the first photo, you can tell that she is dressed suitably to a rap artist as she has a very humiliating stare into the camera and she has her hood up.