RK, the mentality of 77
Originating from a major rap land, RK naturally started rapping to do like everyone else... before becoming one of the scene’s references. The young prodigy from Seine-et-Marne released his 5th album, always with simplicity and efficiency, as during his shoot for Project X Paris!
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RK, a winner’s mentality77 is a bit the forgotten child when talking about French rap history. While every Île-de-France department has always tried to represent as strongly as possible through their rappers, the artists from 77 are more discreet. Yet, it is a major rap land, with great legends of the movement like 2Bal, but also other excellent rappers like Uzi or A2H more recently. But the 77 department has a big image deficit. But a forgotten department also means one that develops its own ecosystem, style, and way of working, somewhat in autarky. It is in this environment that RK had his first contacts with rap culture. In Meaux, more precisely in the Beauval neighborhood, rap is omnipresent, so it was only natural that the future artist started rapping. First with his friends, a bit to do like everyone else, especially the biggest in the neighborhood who are many to kick, dreaming of breaking through but mostly to pass the time.
He doesn’t like to talk about age much, claiming age means nothing in rap in terms of talent, but he recorded his first freestyle in front of a camera well before he turned 15. Initially, he dreamed of being a footballer, another sport widely practiced in Meaux, again either dreaming of breaking through or just to pass the time. But an injury kept him off the fields and brought him closer to his second passion, rap. A blessing in disguise in a way. Especially since it didn’t take long to explode thanks to the famous freestyle “#RiyadMahrez” which went viral. So viral that RK was quickly contacted by Fianso to come remix the track live during an epic Planète Rap freestyle. The phenomenon was launched, with a well-defined style from the start: fast, raw, efficient, and controlled kicking, with many street themes in his freestyle verses. Many points in common with Fianso, so it’s easy to see why they matched so well. A first album quickly came out, “Insolent,” with hits like “24 Carats,” “Bae,” and “Moscow.” Tracks where he shows he’s ready to be much more than just a kicker, with solid melodies. It’s with this album that he started to rain platinum and gold, and he continued on the same path with his second project, “Rêve de Gosse,” released in 2019. All this while the rapper was only 17 years old, but already with big ambitions and crazy talent.
He continued to impress with this second album and also established himself in the game as a “guy to invite for features,” due to his versatility and ability to perform well on all types of beats. He quickly got close to some big names in the game, like Koba la D, with whom he gets along very well, as well as Larry and Maes. He is very comfortable with these new generation artists, all-rounders. His third album, “Neverland,” was also a hit. Especially since over time, RK became more comfortable and present in the media, and he also multiplied well-produced videos. He burned his wings a bit by releasing his fourth album, “100 Rancunes,” a bit too quickly, but it was to come back stronger by shocking everyone with “Mentalité,” released at the end of 2022. A somewhat conceptual project, divided into two parts, but in which the rapper concentrated everything he knew how to do well. The result: nothing to remove from the project, and quality features with Koba La D, Guy2Bezbar, Mig, but also Soolking. You can also feel that the artist took a step forward in terms of artistic direction, with sometimes risky but successful bets. Like the video for the acoustic version of “Lola,” a real slap.
The RK x PXP collabAnd naturally, at Project X Paris, when we see an artist trying to offer something original in style, it catches our attention. A style all in simplicity, with light pants, a light gray sweater, and just a piano to accompany RK’s voice, all filmed at the bottom of a building. So, we wanted to see what he would look like as a model for a shoot! We just had to find him outfits that matched his universe. Not too hard for him, a fan of football and streetwear: lightweight technical clothes seemed perfect for the occasion. So we put together a small Tech Outfit, with a light gray zip-up hooded jacket, with stripes on the sleeves and stylized writings on the chest and hood. All worn over a white crew neck t-shirt, and with tech jogging bottoms for a successful overall effect. All set in a “cardboard/graffiti” decor that we kept for the second outfit, a 100% Project X Paris Signature outfit, the capsule that made our reputation. A signature hoodie, signature jogging bottoms, a pair of PXP sneakers, all in pure white, and that’s it!
New room, new atmosphere with this second quite scary decor made of tarps and mirrors. But it’s perfect for quality visual effects, as well as to make RK try one of our brand new pieces. These are clothes from the Wavy Wear capsule of the 2023 collection, which relies on two-tone designs. For RK, we chose blue, with a two-tone wave-style hoodie combining a very light blue with a slightly darker one. For the pants, it’s a two-tone wave-style jogging bottom that picks up the same color code for a nice overall effect. A looser and more comfortable outfit than the first, but just as streetwear, if not more, with the slightly oversized white t-shirt worn under the hoodie. Sobriety and comfort, but always with a little street reminder, which seemed to please the rapper who posed well.
RK continued to play along with the fourth and final outfit of the shoot, always with a smile, as you can see in the little videos shot to promote on social media. It was time to make him try an outfit in a very current tech/sportswear style. But on him, it’s a hit. For the top, we have a gray quilted panel jacket, worn with matching gray quilted panel jogging bottoms. A very tech set, effective for mid-season right now, when it’s still a bit cold but not too much, and which reflects a dominant techwear trend right now in urban fashion, but also in luxury. In short, a quite sporty/tech shoot, to pay tribute to RK, his football past, and his life as a fighter. We recommend checking out his latest videos on his YouTube channel, and as for us, we hope to see him again very soon in front of our cameras!