1PLIKÉ140, the prince of drill
While France was hit hard by the UK drill wave in 2020, some leaders of this style began to emerge. Among them, 1PLIKE140 is one of the most respectful of British codes, whether in terms of rap or image, or clothes. Even if he allows himself some more eccentric attempts, and that, at Project X Paris, we approve!
The 1PLIKÉ140 Phenomenon
No one could have predicted the incredible success drill has in France. To be honest, we even thought the hexagon would struggle to adapt to the rap phenomenon coming from England (but also from the States, Chicago, then New York) with its very particular codes, very dark, very street, and soaked in a often violent street life. Yet, two years after the first tremors, drill is now essential and many veterans have even started trying it. But this wave was above all an opportunity to see rappers rather confidential until then explode in the public eye, like Freeze Corleone, Gazo, and 1PLIKE 140. The latter is probably the one who experienced the fastest rise being one of the youngest of all drillers with a career that is also quite young. But in less than two years, the prodigy has had time to expand his discography with four projects. Above all, he has had his first real big mainstream hits.
Because the rapper who comes from Clamart, in the 92, now has the numbers that match his ambitions, even if he obviously does not intend to stop there. With his latest hit, "Canada," he simply made it to the top of all rap playlists for several weeks, with a track that feels like a very street banger. Again, we might have struggled to predict this kind of success for such a raw track, but that's exactly where 1PLIKE140 excels: he surprises. Far from adopting the most commercial codes to release hits, he scrupulously respects Anglo-Saxon influences, whether in dark tracks or more upbeat ones, with faster electro beats that the English love. His latest single, "Perso," is a great example. On this electro beat, the French rapper spits with great ease, as if he had been doing it his whole life. The fact that he really knows and respects UK codes is clearly a strong point compared to competition that sometimes struggles to fully embrace its influences.
1PLIKE140 is therefore part of this new generation of rappers who are destined to be the big faces of tomorrow's rap, alongside rappers like Uzi, Koba La D and a few others. After "Arrêtez-le vol.2" released in January 2022, we wouldn't be surprised to see him soon drop another project, he who has already been so productive so far, to confirm the importance of the phenomenon. He has already diversified his music well, allowing himself some less dark tracks, even if his attitude and lyrics remain just as raw. A versatility that will be an asset for the rest of his career, which has started in the best possible way so far. This summer, he is scheduled for several major festivals and we are likely to see his popularity rise even more, so believe us when we say you are only at the beginning of the phenomenon.
The 1PLIKÉ140 x PXP collab
This status as a major revelation of FR drill obviously pushed Project X Paris to want to collaborate with the young rapper. Especially since we immediately noticed he had a sense of style. This is a fundamental aspect of drill, and every driller must have at least one outfit of this kind in one of their clips: a black set, with a black hoodie, black sneakers, cargo pants (or black sweatpants), with a black beanie or a balaclava, whose color you can guess. As a great connoisseur of these codes, 1PLIKE140 perfectly played along during our shoot with him, sporting this classic drill streetwear outfit. All this, in front of a magnificent vintage car, always in this PXP idea of mixing luxury codes with streetwear ones. The outfit was essential and the rapper brilliantly validated the step. And on top of all that, a black quilted jacket, also very popular with UK drillers (to the point of inspiring the famous parody track "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq, 400 million views on Youtube).
But where he most amazed the audience was when he put on some more summery outfits. Notably the set from the "Bandana" collection. As you can see, the patterns on the pieces refer to those of bandanas, cult pieces of US Rap streetwear. On the agenda, a bandana short, with the matching men's hoodie in the same pale colors and patterns. All this, behind the wheel of a magnificent quad bike, for an incredible look that already makes it one of our favorite shoots of the 2022 season. The outfit is not one of the easiest to wear, but 1PLIKE140 handles it wonderfully, even with clothes that are far from those usually worn in drill clips, especially in terms of colors and patterns.
Finally, the cherry on the cake are the photos where 1PLIKE140 wears the " Graffiti" capsule, one of our most recent and ambitious. A rather loose short, with graffiti patterns covering the entire surface, a t-shirt with the same patterns, and a gradient of colors going from light blue to purple: a very colorful, very summery outfit that is a hit on the rapper's shoulders. This graffiti set will be one of our must-haves for the upcoming summer season. Even if, a small killer detail, the rapper kept his black beanie, a little reminder of the drill universe. We tell you, the young prodigy respects the codes!