Maître Gims

At 37 years old, Maître Gims has this physical status:

Gandhi Bilel Djuna (French pronunciation: ​[ɡɑ̃di bilɛl dʒuna]; born 6 May 1986), better known by his stage name Maître Gims (French: [mɛtʁə ɡims]) and more recently just Gims (, GHIMSS; sometimes stylized as GIMS), is a Congolese-French rapper, singer and songwriter. He grew up in France and currently lives in France and Morocco. He is a former member of the hip hop group Sexion d'Assaut and released his first major album, Subliminal in 2013. The album sold over a million copies in France and peaked at number two in the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. His other two albums follow: Mon cœur avait raison in 2015 and Ceinture noire in 2018 reached number one in France and Belgium (Wallonia) and peaked in the top 40 in various European countries, including Denmark, Italy and Switzerland.

He has topped the French singles charts four times, including once as a featured artist, most recently in 2018 with his song "La même". The song was the most performed in France in 2018 and it helped Gims become the most performed artist on French television and radio for the same year.

In 2018, he was the 7th most performed artist in the world on Deezer. During his career he has worked with several international artists such as Sia, Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Stromae, Maluma, Sting and others. He has sold over 5 million records, including 3 million albums since the start of his career.

In 2020, he won the International Artist of the Year in Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards after his featuring in Mohamed Ramadan's song "Ya habibi". On 17 September 2020, Netflix released a documentary about the last ten years of his career titled Gims: On the Record.

Early life

Gandhi Djuna was born on 6 May 1986 in Kinshasa, Zaire (Now the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1997). He comes from a family of musicians: his father Djanana Djuna is the singer of Papa Wemba's Viva La Musica troupe. He arrived in France in 1988 at the age of two, with his parents who were then foreigners in an irregular situation.

Because of his parents hiding, he explains having had a difficult childhood. He was placed with foster families, before living in squats until he was 18 years old. This passage from his life is mentioned in his book Vise le soleil. He is part of a family of fourteen children. He is the brother of Dadju, member of the group The Shin Sekaï, of Bedjik, Afi (formerly Xgangs) and Djelass all three rappers. On his first album Subliminal (2013), they participate in the song "Outsider". Gims grew up in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. His family then moved to the 9th arrondissement and finally to the 19th arrondissement. Gims studied graphic design and communication.

He takes the nickname "Gims" in reference to Asian cinema and the world of martial arts.

Personal life

Gandhi Djuna married two women: a Frenchwoman who lives in Morocco, and with whom he had two children, from whom he is separated but would never have divorced; then a Frenchwoman of Malian origin Demdem, married in 2005 and with whom he has three children. He spends his time between France and Morocco.

He converted to Islam in 2004. In 2005, he joined the fundamentalist movement of the Tablighi Jamaat, which he then left and now considers a sect. He says in a documentary dedicated to him on Netflix: "There were people who ended up dead, committed suicide in Iraq, People who were next to me, And that freaked me out, I don't know where I could have ended up." Originally a Catholic, he indicated in 2016 that Barack Adama, his friend from the group Sexion d'Assaut, convinced him to convert to Islam, as well as after an interview with an imam.

In March 2018, he indicated that he applied for French nationality and that it was refused. According to the press, this decision would be because of his “bigamy”, which is not authorized in French or European law.

In early 2022, he relaunches the procedure for obtaining French nationality. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, estimated on 25 January 2022 on France Inter that the rapper's recent comments on the New Year did not demonstrate "good proof of assimilation into French society", going to against article 21-24 of the Napoleonic Code. However, the minister assures that his request would be, like all the others, re-examined by his services.

In 2013, Gims founded Monstre Marin Corporation with Pascal Nègre. The latter announces the direct integration of MMC into Universal. "Gims is one of the most gifted artists of his generation! I am delighted to accompany him with Universal Music in his discovery of new talents and in the development of his label Sea Monster", he explains on his Twitter page. The label's logo was unveiled in early 2014.

In February 2014, L'Algérino joined the label, followed in June 2014 by Mac Tyer. Monstre Marin Corporation published its first compilation La Monster Party chapitre 1 on 30 June 2014. According to BFM TV, Gims sold 50% of the label Monstre Marin Corporation in 2014 for 500,000 euros. This structure sold to Universal Music France brought together many artists such as Vitaa, Souf, Mac Tyer, L'Algérino, MA2X, Lartiste or even the Marin Monster duo, now all gone and replaced by emerging artists like DJ Arafat, DJ Last One, Amalya or Savana blues. The label ends its activities on 13 January 2020.

Gims is famous for always wearing sunglasses in public, in fact, it is rare to find pictures of him without glasses on the Internet, and the reason for this is so that he is not recognized on the street when he is without glasses because of his wide popularity in France and Paris in particular, and he previously stated that this method works. The only time Gims took off his glasses in public was at a live concert with the group Sexion d'Assaut when he danced with the group members but little was noticed on his face because the stage was almost dark.

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Career

Gims formed in 2002 with the rappers JR O Crom and Makan as the Prototype 3015. The group's name was chosen in reference to a film, mainly for its "combative" meaning. Sexion d'Assaut also includes a reference to the Sturmabteilung (SA), in French "Section d'Assaut," a key Nazi paramilitary unit that the group discovered by chance during a concert in Paris. The trio merged with Assonance, another group from the Sexion d'Assaut corp. The company is now known as the 3rd Prototype.

Sexion d'Assault's agent, Dawala, is employed by the firm in the cellars of Châtelet-Les Halles in Paris after a few pieces were made by itself. On May 13, 2006, the 3rd Prototype revealed its first mixtape, La Terre du Milieu, with Dawala. The CD was created by Gims. They released Le Renouveau, 2007, which contained the well-known piece "Anti Tectonick."

Gims first appeared on Prototype 3015 and then Prototype 3, becoming part of the Sexion d'Assaut supergroup. Between 2002 and 2003, Sexion d'Assaut released his first songs. We find Gang yabagang, Coup 2 pression, and Frères de rue, among them. Gims appears twice in the 12 Inch'All Star, a famous rap competition in the Parisian underground that takes place at the Batofar, with Sexion d'Assault. He came in second place and gained notoriety, becoming one of France's best kickers (freestylers).

Les Chroniques du mois, a monthly freestyle group, was released via audio or video in 2008. Sexion d'Assaut released Les Chroniques du 75, a compilation of previously unveiled tracks, including Gims' solo piece " 30%."

L'Écrasement de tête, Sexion d'Assaut's second street album, was released in May 2009 on Because Music. The last sub-entity of the 3rd Prototype, the supergroup's sub-entity, dies completely. Through titles and music videos, including "T'es bête ou quoi?" Lécrasement de tête earned a certain notoriety with the general public. (In collaboration with Dry) and "Wati Bon Son" (in collaboration with Dry). Sexion d'Assaut is on tour, with Orelsan and Medina openings. The Head Crush has sold more than 50,000 copies. Following the unveiling of Lécrasement de tête, the group left Because Music due to misunderstandings and a deal with Sony Music Entertainment.

The studio album L'École des points vitaux debuted in 2010 by Sexion d'Assaut. Gims has been described as a singer-songwriter on the website. "Ils appellent ça "Casquette à l'envers" was one of his pieces' musical tracks, including "Ils appellent ça." Other beatmakers also appear on the album, including SoulChildren's "La drogue te donne des ailes." The album received a lot of buzz in the general market, with over 400,000 copies being sold. At the Parc des Princes, Suprême NTM debuts, and the group performs at the Zénith de Paris.

In April 2011, a controversy emerged over the company's openly homophobic allegations. Sexion d'Assaut decided to release En attendant L'Apogée: les Chroniques du 75, a mixtape that has received acclaim for the first time, despite all that success with titles like "Paris va bien" and "Qui t'a dit." The project includes a DVD containing one of the songs' clips, as well as a a documentary tracing the group's journey.

They released L'Apogée, their second album, which was more popular than the first one, in March 2012. Over 700,000 copies were sold on the album. Au cur du vortex is Gims' online comic from the same year.

Gims tried his hand at musical composition during his time with Sexion d'Assaut. He completed his first solo project, Pour ceux qui resent les yeux ouverts, at the end of 2006. Fredy K and Noko of ATK creates the EP. The disc, which has been limited to just 100 copies, aims to make Gims known to the general public. Sexion d'Assaut, Scred Connexion rapper Koma, and a singer named Carole are among the record's tracks.

In the video Welcome to the Wa Part, published on January 29, 2013. 4: Gims, La Consecration, has announced the release of his first solo studio album, Subliminal, on May 20, 2013. "Meurtre par strangulation" is published on March 1st Gims' book. On March 15, he introduces "J'me tire," his second single that remains ranked No. 1 on the French charts for four weeks in a row. Gims confirms rapper Pitbull's presence on a track titled "Pas touché" in an interview on Rapelite.com. Bedjik, Dadju, and X-Gang, three brothers from the company MM Solja, are reunited on the track "Outsider."

He released "Bella" on May 4th. Its exclusive on Skyrock, "VQ2PQ" appears on May 13. It Works, the Shin Seka Company's flagship product, was broadcast on May 14th. On the 20th of May, a subliminal will be published.

Gims introduces previously unveiled tracks, which will not be included in the album's catalog, in the form of a series of video clips titled This is not a clip. The album has been released on a commercial level, with more than 1 million copies sold.

He appeared in his first solo concert at the Olympia on May 31. On the album "AVF" featuring Orelsan, he appears on the album Racine carrée of Stromae. After the last date of the Sexion d'Assaut tour, which also brings together IAM, Orelsan, Youssoupha, La Fouine, Psy 4 de la Rime, Rohff, and Stromae, Gims says he wants to take a break. He also wants to care for his wife and his four children, although he says he has seen too little due to his work (the oldest of his four children was born in 2008 and the youngest in 2013). The new Sexion d'Assaut album is set to debut in November 2015.

He appeared in the single "Game Over" by singer Vitaa in September 2013. In France, the song debuts first in singles sales. Gims' latest clip, "Changer," debuts on November 22, 2013 in the week of 1 December 2013. Gims hopes to reach a new, larger audience with this ballad.

Gims was nominated in the Urban Music category at the Victoires de la Musique in February 2014, but the award was later awarded to the 1995 group. Nonetheless, his solo career was also fruitful. According to the magazine Challenges, the singer is the second highest paid French artist of 2013, behind Mylène Farmer, but well before Johnny Hallyday.

Gims also posted extracts of songs from his Warano Tour YouTube channels, parallel to his tour's announcement. In addition,, he announces the launch of his seventh video of This is not a clip with Fuck Ramses that could not be made.

Despite being scheduled for the month of March, the album's first single "Est-ce que tu m'aimes" has been revealed. On Skyrock's 28th anniversary, a spectacle took place on April 28th. In addition, he has revealed that the album will be divided into two parts: the Blue Pill, which is a part of urban pop songs, and the Red Pill, which is geared toward rap. The Matrix's inspiration for this design was inspired by the film The Matrix. "Melynda Gates," the first single from The Red Pill, is released, followed by a video.

Gims, then, unveils the second extract of the Blue Pill called "Laissez passer," the clip of which brings together his family, father, and brothers. Gims' "Longue vie" (Red Pill) with Lefa, which marks his return to the music scene at the end of July, brings together all the Sexion d'Assaut.

Gims has revealed the tracklist and the album's release date: on August 28, the album will be released on social media: A new single, "Brisé," is available at the end of August. He also released four other singles from his double album ("Tu vas me manquer," "ABCD," "Sapés comme jamais" and "Abdonne"). Then revealed the reissue of his album, which will be out on August 26th. Mon cur raison de la raison was limited to 700,000 copies.

Gims held a concert on April 23, 2016 before the football match between Paris Saint-Germain F.C. The 2016 Coupe de la Ligue Final will be hosted by Lille and La Ligue du Mont Blanc. "Est-ce que tu aimes?" performs on stage from three of his hits. "Bella" and "Sapés comme jamais," the singer says.

On his arrival on the lawn, the singer is booed by the fans. "Will we continue?" the rapper yells to the audience, "will we continue?" says the performer.

", The spectators shout" No!

"" Gims, who was interviewed in Morocco, claims he did not hear the whistles when he sang and that the ferocious criticisms did not surprise him. The supporters, according to him, are inebriated, and some of them were for Lille, while Gims is Parisian. The rapper ends by acknowledging that there are a lot of people who don't like his music but that they are eager to relive the event for his followers.

On September 9, Gims announced the introduction of Ceinture noire. The album was released on TF1 Group under the Play Two brand having left the Wati B label in December 2016. Gims posted a "Marabout" excerpt on Instagram on May 7, 2017, shortly after his official announcement. On its new YouTube channel on May 12, 2017, the title and a clip were officially released.

On November 10, 2017, Gims unveiled the first official clip of Ceinture noire, titled "Caméléon" on streaming platforms. He posted the clip on his YouTube channel on December 12th. The clip has surpassed ten million views in less than two weeks. On March 23, 2018, a ceinture noire was introduced.

Gims unveils the tracklist and publication date of his third solo album Ceinture noire on March 23, 2018, which includes 31 tracks and 3 bonus tracks to choose from. In a full version for the 24th of August 2018, then reissued four bonus tracks on the Ceinture noire album. Gims finally unveiled the reissue of the Ceinture noire album Transcendance on YouTube on March 14, 2019, which includes 13 bonus tracks.

It includes South American superstars Maluma and J Balvin, as well as Vitaa, his brother Dadju, Alonzo, and Sting. He performed "Reste" with Sting in 2019. The clip was shot in Transports en commun lyonnaise. With over 990,000 sales, the album is now a gold disc. Its sales are expected to hit 1,000,000, which is synonymous with the double diamond disc. He became the first French-speaking rapper to crowd the Stade de France with over 72,000 people on September 28, 2019.

Gims intends to debut an entirely rap album in 2020. On November 6, 2020, the latter will be announced as Le Fléau for the first time. Gims revealed on March 27, 2020, during a live Instagram with Dadju, that he had announced a new Le Retour des Rois this year. "Here we are in the discussions, we have no idea when or not the album will be released, or with whom it will be distributed." The procedures are a little scientific, as you'll notice.

Gims listens to several songs from Sexion d'Assaut's album Le Retour des Rois while driving in his car on March 30, 2020. Sniper, Sefyu, and Gradur shared a live stream on Instagram on May 2, 2020. Gims has officially released his 100% rap album for the start of the 2020 school year, as well as Le Retour des Rois for the 2020 period, which may be extended to 2021. Gims has announced the return of the Sexion d'Assaut with the latest album Le Retour des Rois, which is slated for release in the fall, following the completion of the first confinement.

The Sexion d'Assaut will make its comeback in concert at La Défense Arena in Paris on September 25th, a date originally scheduled for January but postponed due to the raging health crisis. Kendji Girac and Gims will debut their name "Dernier Métro," a pair that will debut on August 28th. He released the first single from the album titled "Yolo," an urban pop sound that involves a lot of dancing, in which he reminisces about his musical journey. Gims: On the Record, a documentary on Netflix retracing the last ten years of his career was released on September 17th.

He dropped "Immortel," a pure rap sound starring a very kicker Gims from the time of the Sexion d'Assault, on September 25, 2020. Le Fléau's debut has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gims announced on social media on November 26, 2020, that his album Le Fléau would be released on December 4th. Gims also revealed the tracklist of his fourth album Le Fléau on December 2nd, with 17 tracks for 9 featurings. We find several common names of French rap, such as Vald, Kaaris, Heuss l'Enfoiré, or the revelations Leto, Bosh, Gazo among the featured artists. A month and a half after its debut, the album was certified platinum. Gims announces "Pyongyang" as a result of l'nsolent's collaboration on March 17th.

He released "GJS" in collaboration with Jul and SCH as well as the "Belle" series in collaboration with Dadju and Slimane on Friday, 2021. In the run-up to the 2021 regional elections in Île-de-France, he appears in a video defending right-wing candidate Valérie Pecresse.

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