Kodes, the fighting spirit made in 91
While 92, 93, and 94 long held the spotlight in the rap game, 91 has established itself in recent years as THE supplier of French rap talent. And it’s also partly thanks to Kodes and his friends from Bâtiment 7 in Évry. Focus on his meteoric rise.
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Évry, the capital of Rap If we want to talk about French rap over the last ten years, we obviously have to talk about 91 and especially Évry. A city many people from the Paris region don’t know because of its relative distance from Paris and the travel time from the capital. A remoteness coupled with isolation, but that didn’t stop the youth of Évry from creating their own codes, language, and rap style. Today, the city shines across France because many talents come from there and the artistic identity of the 91 city has strongly influenced all rap production in recent years. After Niska conquered France with his “Matuidi Charo,” then with mega-hits “Réseaux” and “Sapés comme Jamais,” it’s the turn of Bâtiment 7 from the Parc aux Lièvres district to shine, with Koba la D as the leader, closely followed by the whole Seven Binks, of which Kodes is a founder. He is one of those who pushed his friends to seriously get into music and leave nonsense aside, and it was obviously a great idea!
Today, the number of certifications that have fallen on the famous Bâtiment 7 is countless. Kodes is one of the first from the Seven Binks crew to get into rap, with a very punchy, catchy, sometimes even aggressive style: the rage of Bat 7 in person. We can note some similarities between his style and that of Niska, another great legend of Évry rap. “Desko,” as he called himself at the start, carries the values of his neighborhood as a banner: resourcefulness, solidarity, bravery in adversity, but also believing fully in his dreams, his destiny, and giving himself the means to achieve it. When he started rap within Mafia Spartiate around 2015, the one nicknamed “Kodes la B” (for “the barrier”) had no idea he would become such an important rapper. But 7 years later, with 2 solo projects and 4 group projects under his belt, he is ranked among serious artists whose releases are awaited. The bad boy of Bat 7 doesn’t hesitate when it comes to kicking, in studio or freestyle, who at the start had a hard-hitting rap style.
But he also managed to diversify his artistic palette, an essential step to become a headliner in today’s French rap. He can hype up a party with some of his rhythmic tracks, and even venture into more melancholic, melodic rap with more emotion. As he prepares to release his third solo album in 2022, the rapper is at a real turning point in his career and he’s aware of it: he’s a hard worker who releases a lot of tracks, clips, participates in feats, and seems determined to occupy all possible space. Because Kodes has the fighting spirit made in 91, and intends to make his success story last as long as possible. Signed with Wati B, a very important label in French rap history, he has all the cards in hand to take another step. Because besides mastered rap, with music that respects the kicking codes, the rapper has more than one string to his bow and we saw that during our shoot with him!
The Kodes x PXP collab Artists sometimes have quite discreet personalities and are not necessarily comfortable posing in front of a camera or staging themselves in a photo shoot. But for Kodes, who is used to cameras, it seems quite natural! It must be said that in all his clips, the rapper has a crazy attitude and a worked style. Most of the work was already done, and all we had to do was imagine an incredible setting for a memorable shoot. It’s done, with the magnificent Ferrari F8 Tributo Spyder adding a touch of luxury to this rather street and summery shoot. All obviously enhanced by the outfit from the Springbreak capsule, a very colorful collection essential this summer. A short with tropical print, paired with a casual and quite loose shirt in the same colors, for a very successful overall effect and it’s a wrap: a true streetwear outfit, worn with style, adding sunglasses and a huge “bling bling” around the neck.
The rapper is also very comfortable with the other outfit from the Rainbow capsule, a bit less exuberant than the first but also much more street. The outfit is a bit darker, even if the logos on the chest remain very colorful, in rainbow colors. This time, we gave him a t-shirt with the gradient logo pattern all over, and a small logo detail around the collar. Added to this is the shorts which also have the rainbow gradient logo pattern all over, with the same black background and a slightly reworked logo on the front of the left leg. Proudly sitting in the Ferrari, Kodes does wonderfully well and the very street look is really effective, always with the same watch and the same impressive chain. Probably the most street and natural outfit for the rapper, tied with the outfit from the Bandana capsule: a shorts + hoodie set with bandana patterns, for which we changed the setting. No more Ferrari outdoors, now the small four-seater Robin DR 400 plane, waiting in its hangar for a chance to shine.
A change of atmosphere that doesn’t bother the rapper, who went through it like a real pro, for really successful photos thanks to the work of our designers on the lighting in particular. We still found time to have the artist try a fourth outfit, this time from the “Patchwork” capsule, a capsule that plays with layering color blocks for a soft and rather stylish result. An outfit that moves away from the street side to get closer to a workwear style and again, Kodes is on point: beige shorts with a double embroidered logo on the left leg, and the “Patchwork” color-block shirt, a flagship piece of the collection, worn with a white tank top underneath and a pair of black sneakers. A real success for the 91 rapper to whom we wish the best for the future, especially for his solo album that should arrive soon. Hoping to collaborate again with him in the near future!