Zed is one of French rap’s finest. Growing up in the Parisian suburb of Sevran, he’s often felt like he’s lived and worked on the outskirts of culture – but this year, he’s taken centre stage amidst the genre’s global explosion.

After originally making his mark with the legendary group 13 Block in the 2010s, Zed embarked on a solo career that resulted in the drop of his debut album, ‘MALCOM’, earlier this year. Surrounded by a star-studded cast including French rap stars SDM, Nekfeu, and Laylow, Zed gave the world a glimpse of why French rap’s creativity and diversity is receiving acclaim worldwide.

His music is blessed by originality, a trait that’s underpinned so much of France’s biggest success stories in sport and culture. Fresh from shutting down the size? Paris store at another sold out ‘House Party’ with adidas Originals, we spoke with Zed to get an A to Z on his life so far, the originality underpinning Parisian street culture, and football’s influence on French music and fashion.

What does it take to be well dressed in a city like Paris?

I think Paris is a city where everyone dresses in black, grey and dark colours. In Paris, if you want to dress well, you have to stand out, bring in brighter colours, dare to use pink, red and yellow. I come from the Congo, a country that loves colours, so for me to stand out in Paris you have to arrive in bright colours, that will shake people up.

How important was football to your come up in Paris?

It's a sport that has always resonated with me and my friends since we were kids. It's the people’s sport, you get a ball, you play with it and that's it. The team spirit also meant a lot to us, as we've always hung out in groups. It's the sport that best defines us, as it's played with 11 players, and even the different positions when we were little we knew that the most reserved person in the team would be a defender, and the one who talked the most would be a striker. It's a sport that has played a huge role in our lives.

What does football mean to the city of Paris ?

Paris, but especially its suburbs, have an incredible relationship with football. We are in love with football. As I said, it's the people’s sport, and in any block you can often find five or six football pitches. It's a real love affair. It's also a sport that gets us out of the hood.

How would you view the relationship between football and music in France?

I think it's important for an artist to think like an athlete. The lifestyle, the mindset, never giving up when you think all is lost, you have to pick yourself up. So I think that for an artist, sport is a way of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and mental hygiene when everything is going wrong.

French players have historically been ‘creative’ in a musical space – Djibril Cisse is a great example – what do you think of ballers becoming more engaged in your art?

Rap is a source of motivation for footballers when they take to the field. So I'm not surprised to see footballers very attached to the world of music. But I also think that everyone has a role to play. Music can be a hobby for footballers, but turning it into a professional career, I don't know, I think everyone should stay in their job.

French players have been legitimate style icons historically. Do you have a favourite French player from a cultural impact POV?

I think of Jules Koundé, he has a real flow. I don't always like what he comes up with and that's normal in the same way that not everyone is going to like my songs. But I know where he wants to go and it works well for him and above all I respect him for that.

What advice would you give to creators trying to find their own original voice in a saturated industry?

I remember Virgil Abloh saying that to create something he would take something that already existed and change only 3%. So to a designer I'd say don't be afraid to sample and change 3%, fashion is an eternal restart. To an artist I'd say be creative, don't be afraid to innovate. But also to give importance to the way they dress, which must correspond to them mentally and musically, because style of dress is 75% of a rapper's image in my opinion.

What’s next for Zed?

I'm working on a few projects at the moment, in particular one to be released at the end of 2024, which will be very short and digital only. I'll also be appearing on other artists' projects. And in the longer term I hope one day to diversify, to be a producer, artistic director, or something else, something other than a rapper but still in music, bringing my savoir-faire to the coming generations of artists.

Zed wears the adidas Originals Adistar Cushion. Shop adidas Originals at size? now.

VERSUS: What does it mean to be an ‘Original’ in your eyes?

Zed: Being an original means always being authentic, staying true to yourself and respecting your principles. Musically, it's exactly the same thing. Where I come from, for example, an OG – original gangster – is someone who has always remained the same from start to finish, a bit like the French rapper Booba, he’s always been the same from the beginning of his career until now.
‍
How has Paris – and its suburbs – influenced your creative process?‍

It's what we experience there that influences our music. The fact that the suburbs are set apart from Paris is something that played a big part in our childhood. We've always been outcasts, so we've always had a special relationship with the street, which has become a bit like our second school. We'd often meet down the block, spending our time talking. We loved debating, which led to our passion for writing. Music was another shared love, so we enjoyed singing and rapping together. The suburbs really influenced us, but so did everything that revolved around the hood, like American rap and African music, which really had a major influence on our music.‍

It feels like French rap is being enjoyed on a global scale more than ever before – what’s your view on the state of the scene, and what’s behind its success?‍

Today there are far more palettes that are successful. The audience has grown, artists are innovating, it's much bigger than it used to be. The artistic scene is much broader than it used to be, there are lots of different musical styles: pop, R&B, African sounds…so it doesn't matter what age you are or where you come from, the music will speak to you.

You released your debut album as a solo artist earlier this year – what have you learned about yourself in your recent journey as a solo artist rather than as part of a group ?

It taught me a lot of things. First of all, it's very different to work on my own, I had to readjust, I'd never been alone before, it was really a new stage for me. It also taught me to explore myself, to know where I wanted to go. I had to search a lot for myself at the beginning, which meant I didn't get the results I was hoping for straight away, there were a lot of pitfalls along the way. This album is like an identity card, it's a starting point, a bit like my ‘Round of 16’, and I've still got a long way to go before I can achieve what I've always dreamed of doing, which is to rack up certificates and classics and please the public as many times as I can.

How important is fashion to your sense of self?

For me, fashion defines an artist. It shows his state of mind, his lifestyle as well. It's super important.

What adidas sneakers are in your rotation right now?

At the moment I'm wearing the Adistar Cushion. It's streetwear and comfortable at the same time. I like the design, the colours, it's my style. It reminds me of the old school models.