Marcel Junior Loutarila takes his pseudonym from the ruthless resolve of Koba in Planet of the Apes. The rapper has cracked the top 10 in the French charts, racked up a succession of dynamite collabs and set the stage for a new generation of French drill. All of that was far from his imagination when he found the music of Chief Keef at age 12, growing up in Évry’s iconic Bâtiment 7. But Koba LaD’s pride in his neighbourhood, his fierce flow and his slick vocal stylings have cemented his status as a formidable talent in Francophone hip-hop.