With the increasing selection of Hip-Hop artists who focus more on melodies and less on lyricism, you have to question the modern effectiveness of the cyphers on artists like Playboi Carti and most recently Coi Leray who lack freestyle rap skills. The lack of traditional rap skills set them up for failure and viral lowlights during the cover’s media cycle. One could easily argue the time it took for XXL to change its format is a sign of XXL’s mishandling and outdated format of promotion for the selections each year, forcing upcoming artists into unfamiliar situations with the expectation they execute styles that came and went before the artist’s career even began.
