Timal is Ruben Louis, born in Saint-Denis in 1997 and raised in Champs-sur-Marne, in Seine-et-Marne. His parents come from Port-Louis in Guadeloupe, and the stage name nods to that heritage. He was writing lyrics in notebooks at primary school, and in 2016 his Rapport freestyles on the Daymolition YouTube channel got him noticed.
His debut, the double album Trop chaud (2018), went gold within months and reached double platinum in 2025. Caliente followed in 2020 with guests including Maes and PLK, then Arès in 2021 brought in Jul and Heuss l'Enfoiré. Filtré with Gazo gave him his first number one in France in 2022 and later went diamond, and that same year he traded verses with Booba on Caméléon. After the short EP Darvaza in 2024, he came back in February 2025 with Ultimatum, a 20-track album where Soolking and Gradur both turn up.