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Music

Somehow Céline Dion's Son Is a Chart-Topping SoundCloud Rapper

René-Charles Angélil is Céline Dion's son, but also Big Tip on SoundCloud, so we reviewed all five of his songs.
KC
Queens, US

It's come to our attention that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree for Céline Dion's son, René-Charles Angélil. He's into music too, but instead of belting ballads like his mom—he's a SoundCloud rapper by the name of Big Tip. With only five songs uploaded to his profile, the 17-year-old is sitting in the top five of both the US and Canada on SoundCloud's R&B and Soul charts. But, is he any good?

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"Catwalks"

"Catwalks" is by far Big Tip's best song of the bunch, as it sits on the top of the R&B and Soul charts with over 100,000 plays. Here, he channels The Weeknd's "Sidewalks" from Starboy, sounding like a jilted lover over the guitar strings. His voice is nostalgic, but not in the best way, reminiscent of JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake's time as the centers of pop. He struggles with flow and breath control at times, but there's one line I can't get out of my head on this one: "I fucked your bitch so good she changed me to her next of kin." Who knew Big Tip had it in him?

"Loft Music Remix"

Tip repeats the formula that seemed to work for him on "Catwalks," this time borrowing from The Weeknd's "Loft Music" from House of Balloons. It's filled with teenage angst, not far-fetched for the 17-year-old, but less than mediocre bars. "And my flow be so tight, nobody in R&B like me since MJ turned white," he sing-raps with the utmost confidence. You just can't make this stuff up.

"Never Stop"

"Never Stop" is Angélil's attempt of ditching the emo raps that filled his first two tracks and sticking to a more "traditional" sound. Given that his mom is Queen of the Ballads, the flexes he drops on this track don't draw skepticism. "Sixteen, I was boolin' out the condo / At 8 years old, I was counting cars and learning how to manage, I was a mini 21 Savage." Well, maybe the 21 Savage line was Tip exercising literary license, but the condo and cars check out.

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"The Apple"

Here, Angélil starts the track with a message to his haters: "They said I was too generic. They said I didn't find my style yet. That's funny, we'll see." He brags about his placement on the charts, "Dropped two chart toppers and they said it was cheesy." Oh, but they were. "Apple" is slightly better than "Never Stop," because it really seems to come from a place of wanting to prove people wrong and his breathing has improved since "Catwalks." It's not all bad, but it's not all good.

"The Kid"

"The Kid" feels like the most put together of the most recent tracks ("Never Stop" and "The Apple") It's short and the energy is there, but I don't remember a single thing he said. Your mom is freaking Céline Dion, dude. Don't embarrass her.

Kristin Corry is a staff writer at Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.