Colonel Reyel

Born Rémy Ranguin in 1984 in Guadeloupe, but raised in Paris, rapper Colonel Reyel grew up in a musical family, with his father an amateur guitarist and his cousin Pédro Pirbakas later becoming reggae star Krys. Developing a love of hip-hop from an early age, he joined the Septentrional Crew in 2004, but following a visit to the West Indies, he adopted the name Colonel Reyel; announced that his mission was to serve Haile Selassie I, the returned messiah of the Bible according to the Rastafarian movement; and began to experiment with the sounds of zouk, ragga, R&B, and dancehall on various solo mixtapes. After working with Krys and DJ Doug on the compilation 100% Zouk, he released his debut album, Au Rapport.