RK joins Le Cercle PXP
RK, from child prodigy to accomplished artist
If we had to list the favorite passions of urban youth in France, football and rap would surely be at the top. There are countless references from rappers to footballers in tracks. We also notice that more and more footballers seek to get closer to the rap world, appearing in clips, showcases or concerts. The main reason for this connection is simple: football and rap have flooded the suburbs, which are the main talent providers whether in music or sport. For youth from the outskirts often victims of prejudice, rap and football represented two obvious ways out to rise socially and be recognized. RK, a proud son of the city of Meaux in the 77, practiced both intensely in his youth. To the point of thinking about going pro, before being held back by injuries and street life. Eventually, he turned to rap, but always keeping an eye on the world of football. And we can say he made the right choice: his first track, released in 2017, is called "1ère mi-temps #RiyadMahrez", named after the Algerian winger playing for Manchester City. A real hit for the young rapper, who had been rapping since he was very young to emulate the big names in his neighborhood.
A hit that got him noticed by Sofiane, a sort of Arsène Wenger of 2000s rap who spotlighted so many talents. It must be said that RK and Fianso had everything to get along, starting with a true love for very fast, very aggressive kick, not hesitating to shout sometimes, like in the days of good trap bangers. After that, everything happened very quickly: a series of freestyles named after the buildings in his neighborhood in Meaux, a great rap land since the 90s. Then a first project, "Insolent", which went platinum in a few months. Very quickly, we noticed RK started to change his music, adding more melodies with his voice, more musicality in the beats, even if the kick remained present on many tracks. A winning recipe with which he regularly reaches 20 million views on his clips. At that time, it was 2018, the rapper was only 16 and his success was already monstrous. One might have thought success went to his head and he would rest on his laurels but not at all: the second project arrived a few months later, in April 2019, called "Rêve de Gosse". With big hits like "Rédemption" or "C'est mon sang" featuring Fianso, the prodigy struck hard again and scored big. Then came the third project, "Neverland", released in summer 2020.
Once again, RK takes a step forward, especially in terms of communication. More present, he is more comfortable explaining his artistic choices, his paths and his approach seems clearer and more thoughtful. You can feel the young prodigy has matured quickly, and he has worked a lot on his aesthetic. While his clips were quite close to those of PNL at their beginnings, he has distanced himself well, even if he kept the taste for somewhat "dreamy" shots, and metaphorically depicting the grind. A flawless artistic project, quickly followed (maybe too quickly) by "100 Rancunes" in 2021. A good project, which unfortunately did not achieve the expected success, but the rapper is not one to give up. He’s been in it since he was a kid and bet everything on rap, so he questioned himself, perfected his mindset to offer us his brand new project, "Mentalité". Even more seasoned, more composed, he came back strong, notably thanks to the hit "Lola", a strong single from the album. Always with that blend of melody and kick, and effective themes revolving around the street, but also love, sometimes a complicated subject. But where he really blew us away was in the acoustic version clip of "Lola", with a sober but incredibly effective outfit.
RK & PXP, the most sporty collab
Light grey Stone Island sweater, light pants and a small pair of slightly tinted glasses, a perfect score. So, it made us want to study the RK phenomenon more closely, especially looking at what we could offer him that fits both this idea of stylish sobriety, while staying in the spirit of sport, to keep his footballer and competitor side. Starting obviously with the classic, the Signature capsule. A sober and classy set, with a unisex white Signature hoodie, and the white Signature jogger bottoms. All worn with a pair of PXP sneakers, as they matched perfectly this classic and effective streetwear outfit. In the background, you’ll notice the "cardboard workshop" vibe with "PXP / RK" graffs everywhere. In the same setting, we had him wear a Tech set that fits very well with his love for football, with rather slim jogger bottoms, and the zipped hoodie jacket, all in two shades of light grey. You can see some stylized logos on the chest and hood, which could refer to a technical garment or a football club set.
New vibe next: you know us, at Project X Paris we like to change everything to avoid staying in a comfort zone. This time, we go for a "crime scene" type setting with tarps and some mirrors for stylish optical effects. For the outfit, we keep it simple, with a mood that is both stylish, soft and comfortable with the brand new Wavy Wear capsule. A two-tone wave style jogger in blue, and a two-tone wave style hoodie in the same color, and that’s it. All worn over a slightly oversized white t-shirt, for a double "style / chill" effect appreciated by rappers. Again, we stick to the sobriety of design and colors, a niche that suits RK perfectly. Our stylists were spot on!
Finally, we move to the last outfit, which perhaps represents the most "street" trend right now: the outfit from the Urban Explorer capsule. A capsule with quite technical pieces, to combine comfort, cold resistance and style to roam your city streets. Or even the underground with red brick walls, as was the case for RK during the shoot. Again, he played along, posing like a pro. The outfit includes a grey quilted panel jacket, and quilted panel jogger bottoms, also grey. All with a small pair of white sneakers, and here again we have another example of a sober, stylish and very trendy outfit right now, with the omnipresence of techwear. You got it, the shoot was all about sobriety and efficiency, not necessarily what Project X Paris is known for. But the challenge was brilliantly met, thanks to an RK hotter than ever who even kicked a few lines for the teasers on social media. We thank him for all that, hoping to do it again soon!