The main image is of the game who is a very famous and
recognisable face in hip hop which automatically attracts an audience that likes this kind of music so they are likely to buy the magazine. There are about 5 layers on this front cover. He isn't exactly in the centre but he is in the middle and there are different parts of the main image in the thirds, such as his arm sticking out holding his cap. This makes the image look more interesting. It uses the generic codes and conventions of a magazine as it has 3 main colours and a main image etc. This makes it recognisable as a magazine. Also, the fact that the masthead is partly covered shows that it's a well known magazine as it shows consumers don't need to see the full name as they already know it. There are only 2 fonts used and the straplines are serif whereas the masthead is sans serif. This makes it stand out more. As the background is dark all the colours on top stand out well.