For most of his life, René-Charles Angélil was simply “Céline’s son.” The boy with a famous mother, a quiet presence at red carpets, and a soft voice behind the cameras. But today, he’s carving out a name for himself—and it’s not in pop ballads or love songs.
It’s in rap. It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s his.
Under the names Big Tip and RC Angélil, René-Charles has stepped into the music world on his own terms, releasing a surprising collection of tracks that caught fans—and even some family friends—off guard. With moody beats, reflective lyrics, and a sound that’s equal parts Toronto and Vegas, his songs hit deeper than expected.
But what may be more surprising is where this journey began.
“He was the quiet one,” a longtime friend of the family shared. “Even as a kid, he avoided the spotlight. He would sit in the studio with headphones on while his mom rehearsed, never making a sound.”
That silence was never disinterest. It was study.
René-Charles reportedly began writing lyrics at just 13, using poetry notebooks his mother gifted him. While Céline was preparing for a world tour, he was secretly building verses in the same room—never asking for help, never showing them to anyone.
“He didn’t want to be ‘Céline Dion’s son who raps,’” a producer close to RC revealed. “He wanted to be taken seriously for his words, not his name.”
And it worked.
In 2021, without any official press release or promotional machine, RC dropped his debut project “CasiNo. 5” on SoundCloud. The tracks quickly went viral in underground circles. While the media rushed to dissect it, fans were intrigued by the vulnerable tone, sharp lyricism, and authentic edge that separated him from the glossy world he grew up in.
But perhaps the most touching twist? Céline didn’t hear his first finished song until it was already online.
“She called me crying,” RC later said in a rare interview. “She told me, ‘I don’t understand every word you’re saying, but I feel every beat in my bones.’”
And though their genres differ, their connection through music is unmistakable.
He still credits her as his greatest inspiration—not just musically, but emotionally. During her health battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, RC paused his work to care for her and his younger twin brothers, Nelson and Eddy. In one of his unreleased verses, he raps: “She taught me silence isn’t weakness—it’s just love in disguise.”
Céline herself once joked, “I gave him lullabies, he gave me 808s,” but behind the humor is a mother’s pride glowing in the shadows of a new spotlight.
Today, RC is preparing his first full-length album, reportedly a deeply personal collection that touches on fame, fatherhood, and faith. While he’s still hesitant about live performances, insiders say he’s considering an intimate show in Montréal—his father’s hometown—as a tribute to the man who inspired so much of his journey.
And Céline? She’ll be in the front row.
This isn’t just the story of a rising artist. It’s the story of a boy who grew up in the echo of a legend—and chose to turn that echo into his own voice.
One beat, one verse, one legacy at a time.
