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Colonel Reyel
Background information
Birth name	Rémy Ranguin
Born	(1984-10-05) October 5, 1984 (age 40) Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
Origin	Guadeloupe
Genres	R&B dancehall pop electro
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2004–present

Rémy Ranguin better known by his stage name Colonel Reyel (born 5 October 1984) is a French singer. His 2011 album Au Rapport reached the top of the French Albums Chart and two singles from the album, "Celui..." and "Toutes les nuits" topped the French Singles Chart in two consecutive weeks in February–March 2011. In June 2011, Au Rapport went platinum. He is of Guadeloupe origin.

Career

Rémy Ranguin chose the military title "Colonel" as a tribute and continuing the tradition of great dancehall artists with similar military titles (like Admiral T, Lieutenant, Caporal Nigga, Kporal Maïky and Sergent). The pseudonyme "Reyel" is a creole version of French word "réel" (real in English).

In 2004, when he was just 20, he joined the group Septentrional Crew. After a visit to the Antilles the same year, he became a freestyle dancehall act and with his band found some success. His work from this period was released in a number of compilations including in Overdoze Riddim. As members of the band started solo careers, Colonel Reyel collected his own materials that he included in his 2008 Boomaz Mixtape Vol 1 including the popular "Crise de l'emploi". He collaborated in studio recording Scartik Rekordz including "Killa" (solo), "Destiny" with Twent and "Don Dada" featuring Twent & XéLo. In 2009, he appeared in the compilation Sound Storm with "Il faut se battre" featuring Josita.

In 2010, the big Wagram label proposed a summer launch of Colonel Reyel ragga / zouk works mixed by DJ Doug, who became a regular at almost all the live shows of Colonel Reyel. "Celui..." based on a riddim of DJ Doug, and produced by Krys was a huge No. 1 hit first in 2010 on iTunes downloads, followed by an official launch of the single in February 2011. It also became a Top 10 hit in Belgium closely followed by "Toutes les nuits", also a chart topping single for him in March 2011.

The album entitled Au rapport was released on 11 April 2011 and went straight to No. 1. He recorded a remixed version of "Celui..." with amended lyrics in support of the faltering French Skyrock radio station and free radio in general. He was also featured with Mister You in "Mets-toi à l'aise", and with Bob Sinclar in "Me Not a Gangsta".

In summer of 2011, he released a third single "Aurélie" about a 16-year-old pregnant girl who decides to keep the baby conceived out of wedlock proved controversial and was seen as an anti-abortion promotion. The song was picked up by Proviefrance and featured on their website. Some radio stations refused to play the single, and there were many parodies online. But still the single reached No. 6 on the French Singles Chart.

In September 2011, Colonel Reyel released the single "Dis-moi oui" featuring Krys, which again proved controversial with allegations he had plagiarized Rihanna's song "S&M". He was also on the defensive after being accused of using too much "auto-tune" to alter his voice.

Discography

Albums

Others

• 2011: Au rapport (Collectors' edition) (with 4 additional tracks)

Singles

Other songs

Four songs in Support (2009 compilation) – "Il Faut Se Battre" (with Josita), "Chanje A Tan", "Lyrikal Tsunami" and "Texto

Collaborations

Featured in

Appearances

• 2009: "Il faut se battre" (with Josita) / "Chanje a tan" / "Lyrikal Tsunami" / "Texto" (4 tracks in a compilation album of 28 tracks entitled Sound Storm)

References

1. Le Parisien: Colonel Reyel, le «soldat de l'amour» – Ce jeune chanteur au patronyme militaire signe un tube qui a cartonné sur Internet avant d'envahir les ondes (in French)
2. Trpocalizer: Qui est vraiment Celui que l'on nomme Colonel Réyel? Archived 3 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
3. Charts in France: Top Albums – Colonel Reyel détrône Johnny (in French)
4. Skyrock: Colonel Reyel, son single pour défendre la radio libre! (in French)
5. Rue89: "Aurélie" de Colonel Reyel, la maman et la putain des ados (in French)
6. Libération: "Aurélie", l'argument massue des "pro-vie" Archived 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
7. ^ LesCharts.com: Colonel Reyel page

Parody Song of Colonel Reyel :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3PfNkdcHLg

• People from Saint-Mandé
• 1984 births
• Living people
• Dancehall musicians
• French people of Guadeloupean descent
• 21st-century French singers
• 21st-century French male singers