Soso Maness joins Le Cercle PXP
Soso Maness: the child of the Northern districts
If we had to remember only one name from 2020 in French rap, Soso Maness would obviously be at the top of the list. Because he brought happiness to our ears during the first lockdown with his hit "So Maness". But also thanks to his verse "Zumba cafew" in the 100% Marseillais project "13'Organisé". Talkative, full of humor and good vibes, and an incredible style that can go from a simple black t-shirt to mafia floral shirts: portrait of the enfant terrible of the Northern districts.
Discover the PXP circle
Few people know it, but Soso Maness has been in rap, intermittently, since he was about 10 years old (he is 33 today). Even as a very young boy, the Marseillais was nurtured and fed on the rap of IAM’s big brothers or the Fonky Family, and managed to get a feature with the group Intouchables (members of the legendary Mafia K1 Fry) on their first studio album, "Les Points sur les I", released in 2000. An early spotlight that should have put Soso on the rap game rails, but the young guy had other desires, other projects… Today, the rapper is still very moved when he talks about some of his close ones, killed by gunfire or imprisoned for 30 years. He ended up repenting after his second sentence, in 2016/2017. Better yet, he completely took control of his life, using his time in prison to learn and educate himself, and came out stronger. Since then, he has strived, successfully, to break through in rap. Beyond that, he has become a true media figure, endearing, whom people love to have on shows: on Clique, Vice, Konbini or various YouTubers, the rapper makes a sensation wherever he goes. Outspoken, witty, incredible life story, but also great musical and artistic sensitivity in general, that’s what makes us all appreciate him. Obviously, it immediately worked with Project X Paris, a brand that primarily seeks original profiles and strong personalities to present its clothes. It must be said that in terms of style, again, Soso is far from being out of touch: we notably remember his incredible outfit during the video "On The Corner", shot in his neighborhood, Fond Vert.
Soso Maness has real ideas for everything visual. In his clip "TP", he made a whole "first-person" video clip, like in a video game. The cover of his album "Mistral", released in June 2020, is also very stylish. Floral shirt, impeccable white pants, sunglasses with a pretty crazy pair of sneakers, and that orange flag flying in the back, all of this is very successful. As for the music, the most important part, he learned to diversify his palette, with a bit of singing, a bit of autotune, lots of rap, and sometimes very surprising atmospheres, like in "So Maness" or recently in "Bande Organisée", and his few lines that blew up Twitter.
Soso Maness X PXP, more than obvious
For his personality and his sense of style, Project X Paris therefore chose Soso Maness to be one of the representatives of its streetwear collection. A choice that is no coincidence: it fits into the brand’s desire to support talents from Paris to Marseille. Especially since there are already 3 streetwear stores in Marseille (Grand Littoral shopping center, Les Terrasses du Port, and for a few months now in the famous Avenue Saint-Antoine), and you can feel the Marseillais people's attraction to fashion and particularly to streetwear. You could almost say they brought back tracksuits to fashion, but also the glamorous bandit looks from Miami. They seem very influenced by the dress codes of 80s gangster movies, with all the assumed extravagant side that can come from it. For Soso, it is just about exploring one of his passions, fashion, and we are delighted to give him this opportunity. Especially since he knows a bit about textiles, having launched his own merch line in 2020, the "Franc-Manesserie".
It was therefore in good spirits that we met the Marseillais at the Headquarters in the 11th district of Paris, a place well known to all those looking to book rooms for a big hype event. A fairly large place with plenty of space, but this space was entirely occupied by Soso Maness, his charisma and his humor. Charming, the rapper knows how to be, especially on certain TV shows or when it comes to wearing a brand new red hoodie from Project X Paris. He is not afraid to surprise, even if it means bringing out the denim jacket again to pair it with a Project X sweatshirt. Because it must be known, besides rap, Soso cultivates a love for rock'n'roll, but also for French music, notably Renaud, a great ambassador of the denim jacket in France.
But even with the boldest pieces, like the tracksuit set with lots of PXP logos, they suit him well. It must be said that with his frank smile and sunglasses, it’s hard not to be photogenic. The blue tie-and-dye sweatshirt with white shades is perhaps the one that suits him best, since it is in the colors of Olympique de Marseille, his favorite club obviously. Even the jackets, which are models not always easy to pull off depending on the build, suit him well. Bold, smiling, available and never afraid to take risks, we can say that Soso Maness did justice to this new Project X Paris collection.