MOST Magazine Fashion MAY-JUNE'15 ISSUE NO.9 | Page 173

born on the 182nd anniversary of that battle. It’s a
country born out of a revolutionary spirit; we’ve had
to fight for all that we are. My love of martial arts
and writing all go back to that. You can hear me
challenge a lot of cultural norms and pop culture
status quos in my music.” It was in Bethesda, MD,
where his family relocated from Haiti when Philippe
was just a baby, where he grew up studying martial
arts, drawing, and writing. His father was an MMA
instructor at the time and Philippe divulges that,
“Martial arts kind of chose me. When I was a child
he (his father) used to put me in chokeholds and
make me wrestle him! We watched a lot of Kung Fu
films together.” When Philippe was about 6 years
old his father signed him up for Judo, Tae-Kwon
Do, and then later Shaolin Kung Fu, which is still
his favorite type to do today. By the time he turned
20, Philippe had already become the international
Grand Champion in fighting and Shaolin Kung Fu
forms. It was later as a teenager, when Philippe
was recruited to do some high fashion modeling
and acting, which led to editorials in publications
such as Marie Claire, DC Modern Luxury, and
New Martial Hero Magazine. Describing his
favorite shoot he has ever done so far as a model,
Philippe reminisces, that it is was in Athens, “on an
amazing Greek island that we took a boat to just
for the shoot and the scenery was breath-taking.
I was with one of the top agencies in Greece,
ACE Models, and my roommate and I got cast for
the same job so it was particularly fun. We were
modeling Lacoste, PRADA, and Ralph Lauren
clothing that day.”
lthough he is focusing a lot on rapping
and his art right now, Philippe says that he
will always continue acting and modeling
as he is just wired that way. “I naturally love acting
and playing different characters in real life. Acting
is a part of who I am, and I love it. I have written a
few film ideas so I am looking forward to activating
my writing and directing side. Modeling-that’s still
frame acting in my mind.” As such a multi-talented
star, the question is not what he is best at, but
rather what he loves the most. Philippe admits he

especially enjoys music and fine art as those are
the mediums of art through which you and you
alone get to be the author of the message you
deliver. He reveals that his father, who was such
a big influencer for his martial arts, actually made
him stay away from rap music when he was a kid
so, “it’s mad ironic that I am a rapper now- and that
he’s actually a fan.” Philippe says that rapping and
martial arts have a special place in his heart as
well because he comes from a long line of military
generals, political leaders, and revolutionary
journalists. “The whole ‘rap is a martial art’ idea
kind of encompasses those aspects of my family
and my nation’s history. I go to war with גV