thread of all the reasons why you should stan Maître Gims @GIMS

let’s start with the obvious, his music is UNREAL. INCOMPARABLE. AMAZING. he is the most played artist on French radio AND he has sold over 5 million albums. this is my favourite song of his and one of my all time favourites EVER.

Gims real name is Ghandi & has always motivated people like the man that he is named after. When his half brother Dadju rose to stardom, Gims was his first supporter despite the fact that they were practically rivals in the French music industry. I love this song of theirs

following his parents divorce, and his father leaving with his brothers, Gims was left on the streets. he quit school and started rapping at underground clubs before meeting the other members of Sexion d’Assaut in 2001. Gims says here “i traded my studies for a platinum record”

Sexion d’Assaut sold over a million albums between 2010 and 2012. They became one of the best European rap groups of all time. So many groups have since fed off their style. In 2010, their song Désolé made 200,000 sales. the lyrics explain Gims’ upbringing.

He loves going back to Yolo, Congo where he was born because he describes it as “symbolic” and in 2017, he returned for the first time and everyone chanted “Gims isn’t just talk, he acts” upon his return. He also held a free concert there and performed this song.

At such a young age, Gims started writing his own raps and lyrics. He now describes himself as an artist belonging to a rare species who can freestyle, with flow, has technique, can do wordplay, can speed up, slow down, and rap to any production. This song showcases that.

Gims is muslim and describes the faith as “personal, spiritual, and connects him to the invisible.” He participates in Ramadan and has no interviews or photo shoots during this month. He does not drink or smoke. He chooses to sing/rap about important issues such as climate change

Gims moved to Morocco in 2014. He fell in love with the atmosphere and diversity of the city. His kids live there and he visits in between shows and recordings. He describes himself as a “citizen of the world.” He feels at home and most welcome in Morocco, France & Congo.

in 2019, he became the first African & the first urban rapper/singer to perform at the Stade de France: the eighth largest stadium in Europe & the largest stadium in France there were 72,000 fans in attendance and he cried at the end of the performance. one of my fav songs

After Rihanna in 2010, Gims holds the record for the second most expensive performance in NRJ Music Awards History which is the largest music show in France. He performed Ceinture Noire (his 2018 album) which sold 500,000 records in less than 6 months! Song from the album

Gims combines African pop with European operatic style in his music. Here is an example, and another one of my faves lyrics in both French and Lingala (a Bantu language spoken in the northern parts of Congo and where Gims is from)

Gims comes to recordings with little to no lyrics and creates them all on the spot when he hears the beats. He is always looking for inspiration and most of his biggest hits were created within one night. This song alongside Maluma was created in only 1 hour and a half.

After a gig, Gims likes to play a card game called ‘Werewolf’ however, he always has the role of narrator because he loves to see everyone playing smiling and happy. Dadju (his little brother) said that “there isn’t a single day where Gims isn’t laughing or making someone laugh.”

On his way to his performances, Gims will sometimes go quiet for up to an hour, creating tunes in his mind & adding lyrics. he has this Mercedes that turns on by pressing a button & he once created a song using the voice of the car turning on. he self-produced this TRACK!

Gims helped another one of my favourite artists Black M with development of some songs on his album in 2019. They both were in Sexion d’Assaut together and also created this song together

Gims always donates for the people in Africa, giving them food, water, school supplies and many more. In 2020, he designed a watch for a high-end watchmaker on behalf of UNICEF. The money went directly to a children’s foundation.

After two hours performing on stage, Gims eats and then listens to the tunes of his music for hours to create lyrics and “magic that transcends you” (his words). His music videos, as seen here, are nothing short of pure art.

Gims’ 2019 show toured in Europe, Africa, the Middle East (he went to Lebanon one week after i left), Asia and North America.

I encourage you all to read the translation of his lyrics, they are like poems

And that’s the end of this thread (for now). I really hope one day I get to him live and I hope this thread proved why he is my fav artist ever if you guys want song recommendations, I have so many more I couldn’t include in this thread so just dm me