RK, the mentality of 77
Originating from a great rap land, RK naturally started rapping to do like everyone else... before becoming one of the references in the scene. The young prodigy from Seine-et-Marne unveiled his 5th album, always with simplicity and efficiency, like during his shoot for Project X Paris!
RK, a Winner's Mentality
The 77 is a bit the forgotten child when talking about the history of French rap. While each department of Île-de-France has always tried to represent as strongly as possible through their rappers, artists from the 77 are more discreet. Yet, it is a great 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 a department that develops its own ecosystem, its own style, its own way of working, somewhat in autarky. It is in this environment that RK had his first contacts with rap culture. In Meaux, and more precisely in the Beauval neighborhood, rap is omnipresent and it is therefore quite naturally 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.
Although he doesn't like to talk about age much, he who claims that age means nothing in rap in terms of talent, he recorded his first freestyle in front of a camera well before he was 15. Originally, he dreamed of being a footballer, another discipline widely practiced in Meaux, again, either dreaming of breaking through or just to pass the time. But an injury kept him away from the fields and brought him closer to his second passion, rap. A blessing in disguise in a way. Especially since on that side, it was about to explode thanks to the famous freestyle "#RiyadMahrez" which went viral. So viral that RK was quickly contacted by Fianso to remix the track live during an epic Planète Rap freestyle. The phenomenon was launched, with already a well-defined style: fast, raw, effective and controlled kicking, with many street themes in his freestyle verses. Quite a few points in common with Fianso then, we understand why it matched so well. A first album quickly appeared, "Insolent", with hits like "24 Carats", "Bae" or "Moscow". Tracks in which he shows he is ready to be much more than a kicker, with some serious melodies. It is with this album that he started to rain platinum and gold, and he continued on this same momentum for his second project, "Rêve de Gosse", released in 2019. All this, while the rapper was only 17, 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, his ability to be good on all kinds of beats. He quickly got close to some big names in the game, like Koba la D with whom he gets along very well, or Larry, or Maes. He is very comfortable with these new generation artists, somewhat all-terrain. His third album, "Neverland", was also a hit. Especially since over time, RK became more comfortable and more present in the media, and he also multiplied well-produced clips. He burned his wings a bit by releasing his fourth album, "100 Rancunes", a bit too quickly, but it was to come back better 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. We also feel that the artist has taken a step in terms of artistic direction, with sometimes risky but successful bets. Like the clip of the acoustic version of "Lola", a real slap.
The RK x PXP Collab
And of course, at Project X Paris, when we see an artist trying to offer something original in terms of style, it catches our attention. A style all in simplicity, with light pants, a light gray sweater and simply a piano to accompany RK's voice, all shot 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 difficult, for him who is a fan of football and streetwear: light technical clothes seemed perfect for the occasion. So we put together a small Tech Outfit, with a light gray zipped hoodie, with stripes on the sleeves and stylized writings on the chest and hood. All worn over a white round-neck t-shirt, and with tech sweatpants for a successful overall effect. All in a "cardboard/graff" setting that we will keep for the second outfit, a 100% Project X Paris Signature outfit, the capsule that made our reputation. A signature hoodie, signature sweatpants, a pair of PXP sneakers, all in full white and that's it!
New room, new atmosphere with this second quite spooky setting 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 is a two-tone wave-style jogging bottom, which uses the same color code for a nice overall effect. An outfit looser and more comfortable than the first, but just as streetwear, if not more, with the slightly oversized white t-shirt worn under the hoodie. Sobriety and comfort then, but always with a little reminder of the street, it seems to have pleased the rapper who posed well.
RK continued to play along with the fourth and last outfit of the shoot, always with a smile, as you can see in the short videos that were shot to promote on social networks. It was time for him to try an outfit in a very current tech/sportswear style. But on him, it's a hit. For the top, we have a gray padded panel jacket, worn with a padded panel jogging bottom of the same color. A very tech set, effective in 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 advise you to check out his latest clips on his Youtube channel, as for us, we hope to see him again very soon in front of our cameras!
