You all partied last summer to Timal and Gazo's hit "Filtré". An instrument cutter from '77 turned hitmaker with certified hits, Timal has an exemplary track record in the French rap game, and already a career to make many pale in comparison. And it's all thanks to his insane talent and incredible energy, which consumes everything like wildfire. And that's exactly what the collab with Project X Paris is all about!
Timal, the soldier of 77
As we said in our article about RK, 77 is a bit of an ugly duckling in the history of French rap. While there are plenty of talented rappers in the department, commercial success was rare in the 90s and 2000s. Apart from 2Bal and affiliated rappers, few succeeded in making their art known. Being far from Paris and the "nearby" suburbs, where most of the big recording studios are located, must have played a role, but it also enabled local artists to develop their own identity without worrying about pleasing everyone, and therefore necessarily everyone. This perseverance has paid off, because today, with Uzi, RK, Djaja & Dinaz and Timal, as well as hard-working rappers like A2H and many others, Seine-et-Marne's influence on the rap scene is assured. Quite a few artists with very different art forms, and in Timal's case, an art bubbling with energy and rage. He's cultivated the image of a raw, burnt-out man since his debut in 2016.
The year he decided to post his first freestyles, the now famous "Rapport" series via the Daymolition medium. It's a medium that's seen a number of big kicketeers become stars in recent years. In Timal's case, his penchant for fast-moving motorized vehicles (2 or 4-wheeled) is reflected in the title of the series of freestyles. On the program, a supercharged rap that talks about coal, the terrain and the rage that inhabits him, all rapped with a hoarse but very strong voice. A rap that's practically shouted, adding an aggressive, punchy edge to his machine-gun flow: as you'll have gathered, Timal had everything it took to make a name for himself. In 2016, he was already generating several million views on videos bearing his name, before launching his own Youtube channel, followed by a second series of freestyles, and a debut album, "Trop Chaud", in early 2018. A project that was a hit, going gold in 3 months, then platinum some time later, with some strong tracks, including "Maria" and "Arrivant". A very streetwise first record, but one in which the artist successfully tried to vary the moods so that it didn't sound like a long session of bludgeoning instrumentation.
The changes will continue in this direction with subsequent projects. But don't worry, Timal is determined to keep his "mic ripping" side, to remind everyone in the game that if anyone ever wants to question his talent, the response will be scathing. But if the rapper's music seems ideal for going to war, he now also wants to make people dance. He will achieve this with "Caliente" and its reissue, but above all with "Arès", his third album, released in 2021. A project in which he was able to surround himself with some of the biggest stars in French rap, including Jul, Booba, Gazo and Heuss l'Enfoiré, all of whom came to validate the young prodigy from 77 by posing on his album. The hit "Filtré", featuring the inevitable Gazo, even earned Timal his first diamond disc, which will surely be followed by others. With a mix of everything that's made him a success so far: a pretty red Italian girl to open the clip, a big flow, a very streetwise attitude, and he's added a highly effective chorus to it all. But you'll have noticed the colorful white shirt worn by the artist in his video, and so will we!
The Timal x PXP collab
This allows us to go on to talk about his ease in front of the camera, an aspect that interests us a lot at Project X. He's always come up with good ideas for his clips, and he and his teams have been able to come up with content that suits his world and makes him feel as comfortable as possible, and it works. That's what we decided to do during the shoot with Timal, which took place in a large disused warehouse, and which will be placed under the sign of fire. An element we wanted to be omnipresent, as a nod to the artist's work. And it all starts with the first set, where we find him between two flaming drums wearing our black Signature unisex hoodie, with a brand-new model of cap with a logo reworked on the front, again in black. Worn with white cargo pants and the Homme PXP Trainer sneaker, in black and white. A sober look, but still very streetwise and effective, with alternating black and white and flames in the background.
We stay on the Signature capsule This time, however, it was in a more general way, with an outfit consisting of a Signature hoodie and Signature jogging bottoms, all in a beautiful, warm brown color. A more relaxed outfit than the previous one, but also worked down to the smallest detail, notably the placement of white accents. First with the slightly oversized t-shirt with white sneakers, and above all, the new Project X Paris cap (with the brand's name in capital letters and redesigned logo), also in white, which stands out like never before in this very fiery setting. You'll have noticed the semicircle of flames surrounding Timal, an effect accentuated by the reflections of the fire on the ground. With a small pair of smoked glasses, it's not far from perfect, don't you think?
If the photos of the first two outfits got you hot under the collar, stay tuned - there's more to come. This time, we decided to give the rapper a flamethrower, a nod to his warrior side. We also gave him a real piece of OG, with this old-school PXP quilted Teddy jacket. A deliberate nod to '90s American streetwear, and in particular the college look, with big letters for big logos, especially on the torso and sleeves, and a real sense of volume in the garment. Here again, the brown color seemed just right, and worn with a white cap and light hoodie, it's a banger. Add to all this a pair of beige cargo pants, a pair of Sneaker Homme PXP in white/green and you're done.
We end on a high note with this huge, flaming PXP logo, which serves as the backdrop for the final outfit of the shoot. This is the most "original" outfit of the whole collab, featuring pieces from the Smiley capsule, one of our best-kept secrets. This capsule is totally dedicated to that monument of pop culture that emojis have become, and we present to you this very pretty emoji. hoodie Smiley, in black, in keeping with Timal's underground vibe. The artist wears black cargo pants, a piece that's definitely in the spotlight in this collab, accompanied by a pair of two-tone sneakers to match. As you may have noticed, we rarely had as much fun as we did imagining all the details of this fiery shoot. We're looking forward to doing it again soon with the rapper!
