Gims

Gims
Gims at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Gandhi Bilel Djuna

(1986-05-06) 6 May 1986 (age 38)
Kinshasa,  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Other names
  • Meugi Warano
  • Le Fléau
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2002–present
AgentSaïd Boussif
Title
RelativesDadju (brother)
AwardsFull list
Musical career
OriginKinshasa,  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Labels
Websitemaitre-gims.fr

Gandhi Alimasi 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 (/ɡɪms/, GHIMSS; sometimes stylized in all caps), is a French-Congolese singer, rapper, producer, 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 next two albums, 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.[1]

He has topped the French singles chart five times, including once as a featured artist, most recently in 2024 with "Spider", featuring Dystinct.[2] In 2018, his song "La même" was the most performed in France in 2018 and it helped Gims become the most performed artist of 2018 on French television and radio,[3] as well as the seventh most performed artist in the world on Deezer.[4] During his career he has worked with several international artists such as Sia, Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Stromae, Maluma, Sting, and others.[5] He has sold over 5 million records,[6] 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.[7][8] In 2022, he played the song "Arhbo" for the 2022 FIFA World Cup along with Ozuna, which they also performed during the closing ceremony.[9]

  1. ^ "Les rappeurs français qui ont le plus vendus – Liste de 123 personnalités – SensCritique". www.senscritique.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Top Albums". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  3. ^ ""La même" de Maître Gims et Vianney, chanson la plus diffusée en 2018". Francetvinfo.fr. 17 January 2019.
  4. ^ Fernandez, Suzette (4 December 2018). "J Balvin Is Deezer's Top Artist Worldwide of 2018". Billboard.com.
  5. ^ "7 French Pop Artists You Need to Start Listening to". Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. ^ "VIDÉO – Le chanteur Maître Gims dévoile son double de cire au musée Grévin". Lci.fr (in French). 3 October 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  7. ^ "GIMS: On the Record | Netflix Official Site". Netflix.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. ^ AlloCine, GIMS: On the Record (in French), retrieved 16 January 2021
  9. ^ Roiz, Jessica (18 December 2022). "Ozuna, GIMS Perform 'Arhbo' & More at 2022 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony". Billboard (in American English and Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.