The son of a self-taught musician, Rael Da Rima wrote his first songs at 16, took part in maracatu drum sessions in the streets of São Paulo, and later learned to play guitar. In 2000 he created a hip-hop group, Pentágono, which enjoyed success in Brazil and Europe. He then chose to leave rap and hip-hop behind, making the shift to reggae. He counts Caetano Veloso, Alpha Blondy and Marvin Gay among his influences. In 2009 he took part in an exchange in Montréal with the groups Nomadic Massive and Inword. That same year he launched his single Trabalhador, leading up to his 2010 release MP3, which stands for Musica popular do tercer mundo, or Popular Music from the Third World, and includes the song Fui, featuring Haitian Montrealer Vox Sambou.