Loyalty and Referral
From "Bat 7" to the top of the charts
Is there today a more influential department in French rap than the 91? Not sure. While the 92, 93, or even 94 all had their moment of glory, today it is indeed the 91 that seems to set the trends. Not that they were a bit late in the past: Ol Kainry, Diam's, and Sinik obviously all marked their era. But since the meteoric rise of PNL or Niska in the mid-2010s, things have taken on incredible proportions. Not only did the rappers from the department dominate the charts, but they also brought new musical vibes and a new vocabulary that would be picked up by the whole game. Fueled by all this energy, a new generation of artists quickly emerged, notably in Évry and more precisely around Parc aux Lièvres, a neighborhood of the city with a rather troubled reputation. This generation is called "L’Équipe du Bat 7," named after the number of their building in the housing project. A building where quite a lot seems to have happened, if you listen to the lyrics of the team's rappers. Among this group of friends, we find big names like Koba La D, of course, Shotas and Kaflo, but also Bolémvn, Keusty, Chicaille Argenté, Zeze, and Kodes, who joined the crew for the 7 Binks adventure.
Among the team, naturally, some artists stand out: Koba la D, the superstar, Bolémvn, the most unpredictable, but also Kodes, perhaps the most aggressive, the best kicker. It must be said that the rapper had time to hone his skills, especially in his first group, Mafia Spartiate. An adventure that produced an album, "7 Vie là," in 2018, before launching a series of solo freestyles that made him explode: "Méchant." The tone is set and Kodes cultivates in his music a restless, very energetic bad boy image that you don't want to mess with. At the beginning, you can feel that Kodes was very influenced by Niska's music, especially in terms of flow, how he rides the beat, attitude, but he quickly diversified and today offers a really broad musical palette. This is no coincidence, as the artists from Parc aux Lièvres have all worked hard on their melodies, bringing sounds never heard elsewhere, even in their voices. With all these tools, the artist is starting to have quite a discography.
Kodes & PXP, the summer collab
For a long time, streetwear, inspired by the New York universe, was a rather winter style, but things have thankfully changed, and we have moved towards lighter pieces and warmer colors. This is the much more summery direction we took with Kodes. With him, it went smoothly, during an epic photoshoot. We want to salute the inventiveness of our designers and graphic artists, who found two different vibes that fit very well with the artist's attitude and the current collection. The first is outdoors, and we find Kodes with a magnificent Ferrari F8 Tributo Spyder, with outfits necessarily a bit bling-bling, somewhat exuberant. Like the set from the Springbreak capsule, with the tropical printed shorts and the relaxed shirt in the same colors. All worn with a cap, a pair of glasses, a nice watch, and a chain with a large pendant, in short, a relaxed outfit that catches the eye!
A combo that obviously suits the rapper perfectly, who has a rather exuberant personality in his lyrics, and it fits well with the Ferrari + summer outfit halfway between very street and very "Miami" style. Another example, the second Springbreak outfit, this time with a set composed of a t-shirt featuring the rainbow gradient logo motif, and shorts also with a rainbow gradient logo motif, all on a black background. Again, we stay in this idea of a summer street outfit, with a little luxury touch with the chain and watch. But Kodes is also very stylish in a darker, less sunny, and less colorful atmosphere. We saw this during the second part of the shoot, indoors, under a hangar with lighting reworked by us. And the cherry on top: the four-seat small plane, the Robin DR 400, to give a somewhat nobler side to this very street hangar. Again, the rapper shines, whatever the outfit, even the most original: a set from the Bandana capsule, with shorts and a hoodie with bandana motif, for a very successful look.
As we see with the Bandana sweatshirt, Kodes is also comfortable with more winter pieces, but since we are in the middle of the beautiful days, we wanted to have him try an essential for this Summer 2022 season: the Patchwork capsule. A capsule based on layering color blocks to give a rather soft and very stylish patchwork effect. We had the artist try a beige-colored set, still in this hangar with the plane. From the photos, we can say it’s a success and the outfit perfectly matches the setting, even the stripes on the plane. This set is quite simple but very effective: plain beige shorts with a double logo embroidery, and the inevitable "Patchwork" color block shirt, worn over a white tank top with embroidered logo and a pair of black sneakers, and that’s it. The rapper’s ease in adapting to different very street and sometimes very daring outfits is really a joy, and at Project X Paris, we are delighted to have been able to realize this collaboration in such a conducive setting. Hoping to do it again soon, maybe for a more winter collab!
WHO ARE WE?
The brand Project X Paris was founded in 2015 by two French designers who wanted to combine urban lifestyle with current haute couture trends. Combining lifestyle and streetwear, the young brand has conquered major cities like London or Dubai and continues today to expand throughout France, with more and more stores.