Orelsan is back soon with a new album. This is an opportunity to take a look back at the career of one of the most influential French rappers of the last 15 years. One of the most successful, too. But also one of the artists who very early on gave strength to Project X Paris or streetwear in general.
Orelsan is back with a new album...and it's already a smash!
Orelsan is back soon with a new album, "Civilisation". The project is scheduled for delivery on November 19, but... It's already close to going gold! A feat achieved via the pre-order process. Orel has developed a whole concept around the album's release. He has imagined 15 different physical editions for his album, with 15 different covers, just like the discs inside. Some are more limited editions than others, which is the ideal ingredient for creating a buzz around a release. This goal was achieved, as 15,000 copies were sold in the first hour of sales, on Friday October 29. A figure that shows just how far Orelsan has truly moved into another dimension, that of icons. 4 days later, pre-orders sold 30,000 copies, and today, a week before the release date, we're at over 48,000 pre-ordered copies. So we've sold 2,000 copies of the gold disc even though the album isn't out yet, and in France that's simply unheard of.
This expectation shows just how important the rapper has been to his listeners over the past 15 years. Orelsan may still be labelled an eternal teenager, but he's an old hand in the rap game, having been around since the 2000s with his big buddy Gringe. In 2004, they even released a mixtape under the now-famous name Casseurs Flowteurs. Then in 2009 came "Perdu d'avance", his classic solo album. It was the rallying cry of a whole generation of idle, disillusioned youth, who didn't feel particularly represented in certain gangster rap codes. By asserting and assuming this attitude of "young wanker" and magnificent loser, he ended up making it cool, and even made it easier for certain personalities to rap. You don't have to be a gangster, you don't have to be this, you don't have to be that, you just have to be sincere and rap something that feels like you. But even back then, underneath his air of being interested in nothing but manga, video games and girls, he had a real artistic vision, combining simplicity and a sense of style, which is reflected in his love of streetwear.
Orelsan and Project X Paris, a review of an effective connection
He really started to work on this style side of things with the album "Le Chant des Sirènes", aware of the importance of appearance at a time when rappers have to release a lot of music videos. He even ended up creating his own streetwear brand, Avnier. But in the meantime, the rapper from Caen has also been sending force to all the brands he loves, such as Project X Paris for example. This collaboration gave us the opportunity to have him wear the most iconic pieces in the catalog. For example, we have some beautiful photos of him posing with the signature sweatshirt or the incredible chest bag a very streetwise piece, but one that suits her very well. But of course, what suits her best is the track suit. It's no coincidence that he rapped on "Ramen" in 2005: "J'passe ma vie en vet-sur, mais j'suis trop fainéant pour faire du sport". A pair of reflective sweatpants that went really well with the "Ramen". signature sweatshirt as if it were meant to.
But the most successful photos of the collaboration are surely those with the big orange jacket and the Project X Paris cap two essential pieces of urban streetwear. With Monsieur Fifou, who came up with the idea of having him pose in front of a bike in the same color, at the controls for the photos. The snowy photo with the signature white sweatshirt in sherpa (or pilou as some people like to say) and the white sweatpants is also really incredible, it gives off a melancholic aspect that goes really well with Orelsan which is also very present in his music. It could almost have been an album cover, but then again, that's to be expected with Fifou at the helm. In addition, the sherpa sweater is a must-have for winter streetwear looks, and was one of our best-sellers in last year's collection. That's why we've created our brand-new capsule Soft Mood made up of different models in sherpa (sweatshirts, jogging suits, jackets and much more...). In short, PXP is delighted to have been able to count Orel among our muses, and we're sending him all the strength we can muster for his forthcoming album, Civilisation. For those who are hardcore fans, the rapper's brother has also released a series-documentary on Orelsan's rise, available on Prime Vidéo.
