Rockin' Squat

In addition to his post-millennial solo output, French rapper/producer Rockin' Squat is a founding member of the trailblazing French rap group Assassin and the founder of the independent rap label Livin' Astro. Born Mathias Crochon, he is the son of accomplished actor Jean-Pierre Cassel. Along with the rapper Solo, Rockin' Squat founded Assassin in 1985 and, while the group's membership grew and underwent numerous changes over the years, he remained steadily at the helm. After years of underground activity, Assassin made their major-label debut in 1990 on the various-artists compilation Rapattitude with the song "La Formule Secrète." The following year they released their maxi-single debut, Note Mon Nom sur Ta Liste! (1991), on Remark Records. A monumental release, the title track is considered a French rap classic and would later became a minor chart hit in 1999 when it was reissued. Assassin subsequently released the mini-albums Le Futur Que Nous Réserve-t-il?, Vol. 1 (1992) and Le Futur Que Nous Réserve-t-il?, Vol. 2 (1992), followed by the full-length albums L'Homicide Volontaire (1995) and Touche d'Espoir (2000), plus numerous EPs and singles such as the smash hit "Wake Up! (Réveillez-Vous!)" (1998). The group eventually split up in the early 2000s after a swan song concert performance at l'Olympia in Paris that was released on CD/DVD as Live (2002). In 2004 Rockin' Squat founded a new label, Livin' Astro, on which he released the Assassin rarities collection Perles Rares (1989-2002) (2004) and the best-of collection Académie Mythique (2006). Rockin' Squat also began releasing solo output on Livin' Astro, first a pair of EPs, Libre vs Démocratie Fasciste (2004) and Too Hot for TV (2007), and then the full-length albums Confessions d'un Enfant du Siècle, Vol. 1 (2008) and Confessions d'un Enfant du Siècle, Vol. 2 (2009).