Joining the likes of Admiral T and Kaporal Maiky on the list of French urban artists with military ranks in their titles, Colonel Reyel became the leading authority figure thanks to a series of chart-topping releases. Born Rémy Ranguin in 1984 in Guadeloupe, but raised in Paris, he 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, including 2008's "Boomaz Mixtape, Vol. 1". After working with Krys and DJ Doug on the compilation Té Ki La (La nouvelle génération du zouk, 100 % masculin!), he released his debut album, Au rapport, which followed the lead of its first two singles, "Celui" and "Toutes les Nuits," by reaching the top of the French charts. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi