Bolemvn joins Le Cercle PXP
The musical touch of Bâtiment 7
French rap still hasn’t recovered from the fresh breeze that blew from the 91 over the rest of the game in the mid-2000s. Whether it’s Ninho, Niska, or PNL, you could say almost all the biggest rappers of recent years have a foot in Essonne? Is it a coincidence? Probably not, because the department has a really atypical profile where everything mixes: very urban landscapes blending all origins, African, Latin, but also much greener and more isolated areas, closer to the image we have of the countryside. It’s this carefully balanced mix that has delivered an incredible number of talents to French Rap, coming from Évry or Corbeil. Among them, one of the teams that made the most noise is Bâtiment 7, this now famous tower in the Parc aux Lièvres estate in Évry, from where emerged Koba La D, Kodes, Shotas, but also Bolémvn, who is one of the most prominent members of the team. It’s no coincidence: the rapper has a very atypical profile in the group, notably a search for musicality, in flows and beats, that you don’t necessarily find elsewhere.
It’s actually this musicality that makes the artist’s strength, a sense of melody he acquired as his career progressed. At the start, like many of his Bat 7 friends, he had a lot of energy to spare and street stories to tell, like in the very first clip on his Youtube channel, « Walter White », a nod to the character from the famous Netflix series « Breaking Bad ». Young Bolé also has a lot of Pop culture references in his tracks, sometimes well hidden, a point that makes him stand out a bit more. In interviews or in tracks, you feel the universe is rich and that he worked on all aspects of his artist career, not hesitating to put himself on stage in clips. Already very strong young for kick rhymes, he gradually evolved to offer sometimes much more danceable tracks, likely to reach a much wider audience than the aggressive trap practiced in Évry at that time. Like his friend Koba La D, the try was quickly turned into a success and although he hasn’t yet reached Koba’s notoriety, today Bolémvn is one of the rappers who matter in this industry, with a very marked identity.
Again, this is no coincidence since the rapper has been a workaholic from the start. More than forty clips on his channel in less than 6 years, and that’s not even counting the whole team adventure with Seven Binks, which includes many very productive artists. Bolémvn is on a high pace and you can feel he didn’t want to miss his chance, with 6 solo albums released since 2018, just imagine. In fact, the latest one, « Vol 169 atterrissage », came out just a few months ago. But this year he also participated in « Monument », the Seven Binks album released just a few days ago. No time to rest, the rapper is determined to take it all. That’s probably why he’s such a good and willing interviewee, with a lot of humor and frankness, even if it means creating very funny situations or controversies. But Bolémvn doesn’t care, because he’s authentic and doesn’t play a character when appearing publicly or on the mic. He stays true to himself and that natural side is exactly what’s interesting.
Bolemvn & Project X Paris, it goes without saying
At PXP, we’re not big fans of people who act like stars or whose behavior changes in front of the cameras and luckily Bolémvn has no intention of playing a role. The tone is set from the first outfit from the Underground capsule: a pink set with street art printed shorts, and the matching oversized t-shirt, all worn with a pair of sneakers and very white socks pulled up high, very trendy in summer outfits these past years. All this in a crazy setting created by our designers at Project X, with a big hangar, in front of a very old-style vehicle that looks straight out of « Mad Max: Fury Road ». The rapper keeps a reserved, rather mysterious attitude, which doesn’t stop him from posing very well. For the second part of the shoot, we kept the same place, with the same car, but changed the outfit: this time, we went for the « Relax » style, recognizable by its knitted clothes and quite minimalist designs. This time, the artist put on a yellow round-neck knit sweatshirt, with a white stripe on the side. For the jogging bottoms, we obviously chose the same color, the same texture for a successful overall effect.
At this moment, Bolémvn gradually starts to loosen up and feel more and more comfortable, it shows on his face. So it's time to move him to something more avant-garde: the « ComfortWear » capsule. It’s somewhat in the same mood as the previous one, but this time it goes much further, offering clothes all in a « ribbed » style, like the corduroy pants worn back in the day. Now, this texture is back at the forefront of fashion and the rapper wears it perfectly: a khaki ribbed shirt, with the double logo on the front, and the textured pants, in the same color, again with the double Project X Paris logo. Even when trying on the most avant-garde streetwear clothes, the artist doesn’t hesitate and in this slightly street-style hangar setting with a luxurious barber chair, he keeps letting loose for our greatest pleasure. So it’s time to follow up with a new outfit, a bit more classic this time but still as effective: the « Signature » outfit, from the collection of the same name. This one needs no introduction, as it’s one of our biggest successes since the brand’s beginnings in 2015. With a small change this time, as we decided to dress him in a beige signature hoodie + signature jogging bottoms set, giving an almost golden look with the hangar’s lighting effects.
Finally, the last outfit tried during the shoot is a black set composed of a round-neck sweatshirt and jogging pants. White doves adorn the top and bottom and you can also see a new reworked logo, with a slightly stylized font and some writings added underneath. On the upper back, we find the « Project X Paris » logo written larger, but with the same typography. Change of scenery for this last outfit, with a setting that could be that of a showcase or a concert, but a very street version. We find Bolémvn comfortable, microphone in hand, putting on a show in front of a large red sheet sprinkled with « PXP » graffiti. He even took the spray paint to have some fun too. We had a great time with the rapper from Évry and really managed to create something original and stylish for this shoot, so we hope to do it again soon, wishing him the best for the future!