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A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY
It's very hard to pigeonhole me.
I'll be the first African
and the first urban rapper and singer
to have played the Stade.
I'm the one that even the rich wanna buy!
What were the chances of it?
ONE YEAR EARLIER.
-Daddy, you draw too fast. -Oh, yeah?
-No, but... -Yeah.
MARRAKESH, GIMS' HOME.
When you draw,
you get a feeling of freedom.
I escape through my drawing.
I was in art school. I wanted to draw.
I wanted to live in Tokyo.
I wanted to eat noodles.
I never imagined success like this.
If it was up to me, I wouldn't sing.
I was like, "I want to draw. That's my way."
Daddy, can you draw Mommy after?
GIMS IS THE MOST PLAYED ARTIST ON FRENCH RADIO.
HE'S SOLD FIVE MILLION ALBUMS.
HIS LAST SHOW TOURED IN EUROPE, AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, ASIA AND NORTH AMERICA.
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 THE DAY BEFORE THE NRJ MUSIC AWARDS.
THE BIGGEST MUSIC SHOW IN FRANCE.
One day to go until the NRJ Music Awards.
Then the tour begins on November 17th
and ends on September 28th, 2019 at the Stade de France.
Stade de France!
Hey, guys, well done!
Five, six, seven.
I gave you my all, yeah Gave you my all, yeah
Gave you my all, gave you my all
OK. Know what? I'll just follow your movements.
Yeah.
You gotta handle success as best you can.
Success doesn't only affect you.
It affects your family and everyone around you.
It's business sprinkled with fantasy,
but it's a cut-throat world.
Shooting live ammo!
You got actors. You got characters.
I am one of those characters.
The truth is, we don't know each other.
-Hi, how's it going? -Champion!
What's up?
-Okay? -Always an honor. Cool.
-It's a pleasure. -Thanks.
Showbiz can destroy you.
You can end up in the madhouse. You can lose everything.
If you're too sentimental,
I think it can be dangerous.
How are you, my man?
Good to see some real, sincere people in this showbiz world.
At last, sincere people!
-So, how's it going? Cool? -Fine.
Showbiz.
-Thanks. Thank you. -Thank you.
I keep thinking about what they said on TV.
-"After Rihanna..." -After, yeah.
"...and her performance of 'Russian Roulette' in 2010,
this is the second most expensive performance
in NRJ Music Awards history."
Crazy.
Incredible.
Honestly.
He's a record-breaking artist.
He is the greatest music lover.
He is the greatest hit maker.
The thing that makes him stand out is his famous sunglasses!
They helped him build a character for himself.
MORNING OF THE CEREMONY.
You know all about his journey, have heard all of his records.
Ceinture Noire, his last album, just crossed a milestone
of 500,000 records sold in six months.
AWARDED TO MAÎTRE GIMS
When you get signed by a label,
they welcome you with applause and all that, champagne.
But if your album doesn't sell, they send you an email:
"We're canceling your contract. Bye!
But let's meet for brunch in a couple of days!"
That's what I mean when I say "this damned showbiz."
You have to make the choice to put friendships aside.
He's someone who keeps showbiz and his real life separate.
There isn't a single day when GIMS doesn't make jokes and laugh.
That's how he really is.
He's joking around, making fun of himself, laughing with people.
But when he is GIMS, he's someone else.
When he puts his glasses on, he's someone else.
Putting on his sunglasses is like putting on a work uniform.
He takes out his heart
and goes to work.
A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE CEREMONY.
This really is... my tour jacket.
I'm surprised his image works so well in France.
He's a show-off.
On Instagram, you can see he has plenty of money. He shows it.
What's that?
He flies by private jet.
He wears clothes that cost more than my house.
He's a successful man, which is great,
but most of the time, it doesn't appeal to French people.
France likes Zidane,
who doesn't show off, doesn't say much, who's shy and reserved.
That's a French star!
-You show up with a cigar! -Isn't that over-the-top?
They'll say, "We're not voting for him!"
So, I'm quite surprised,
because he has a lot of things that people usually don't like,
but people love him.
There's enough charisma, I think.
It rocks. But the jacket's too small. I dunno.
There's this weird paradox where people hold something against you,
but they want to see it at the same time.
The press will be like, "GIMS, please! Over here!"
It reminds me of Zlatan Ibrahimović when he came to Paris.
We'd rarely seen anyone so arrogant.
But the French liked that. It was Zlatan!
Black jeans, good makeup,
black T-shirt, chain.
Truth is, people wanna keep dreaming, keep wondering:
"Will we get to see his eyes?"
But if ever I take off my sunglasses,
they'll say, "You shouldn't have taken them off."
I think he sees himself as a manga character,
steering his career a bit like a manga character.
His name is Maître GIMS.
That's really the name of a manga character.
That's where people struggle to see the difference between...
the artist and the man.
I'll be like this in the photos.
No animals were harmed!
It's been done.
-It's like your music video for "Corazon." -Yeah.
There's nothing particularly wild.
No, not especially.
-So, people won't be surprised. -Yeah.
She cuts through the madness.
She's radical.
"It's lame. It's been done.
That jacket looks ratty."
She's really... involved.
It annoys me that we aren't ready.
We should have looked at this stuff before.
You aren't someone who... You see?
I could've gotten you a fur. That's hot.
Maître GIMS is...
It's easy!
I think it's important for him
to have an image that matches the lifestyle we try to show off
and the evolution of his character, because, for me, GIMS is a character.
GIMS is bold, which I like,
because I think only a handful of people can get away with this
in today's French art scene.
And if I believe something is bad for him or his image, I will say so.
That's what I need: sincerity, people who are objective.
That's super important.
Because you can be doing something, and everyone's like, "That's great!"
But those people don't know a thing, or they aren't objective or sincere.
-Without my glasses, they're not sure. -Come on. There are cameras.
-I'll play the bodyguard. -Yeah, do that.
Get back, please. Sorry, excuse me.
That's it. This way, Beyoncé. Come on.
Let's go this way.
Sorry, we need some air.
Excuse me.
Sorry, not allowed.
Sorry.
Excuse me.
Let us breathe!
-We're being followed. -You know what will happen?
-We'll take everyone with us? -They'll all stay out front.
I don't have my glasses on. People are going to film me.
I don't like it. I don't feel comfortable here.
It's not a real exchange with people.
Keep moving. Don't stop. If I stop, I'm dead.
White stuff in the middle. No!
Can I have a photo with you?
People just want a photo with you.
You don't feel like a human being anymore.
You don't feel like a human being.
You're in a cage, and people are watching you and filming you.
You hear them whispering.
But that's part of the game. I accept it.
-Yeah, that's it. -Not bad, huh?
Yeah, classy.
I'm wondering how to get back to the hotel.
Maybe we should get a car.
Not bad, huh? It'll get people talking.
Some say it's the Congolese part of us.
That Congolese people like bling and showing off.
Maybe it's because we had so little that we now want to flaunt it.
But I also know him when he's not playing his character.
He's very, very unassuming. You wouldn't believe it.
I mean...
you see a character
that's nothing like GIMS, that's the total opposite of GIMS.
But he is those two opposites.
He's both. Sometimes bling, sometimes discreet.
Sometimes he sings, sometimes he raps.
Hi. I don't have much time, sorry.
Okay?
While walking? Can we do it while we're walking?
-Oh, my God. I love you. -Thanks.
-Thank you.
There were so many people!
You have to put on the character.
Maybe you're feeling sad, you've had bad news or something,
but no!
You belong to the people.
So, if they want a photo,
you give them one. If you don't, you're a bastard.
NOVEMBER 10, 2018 NRJ MUSIC AWARDS CEREMONY.
Maître GIMS climbing the stairs tonight.
We're talking and laughing like we're in the 'hood.
Talking and stuff...
"Yeah, dude. I like your threads!"
"Yeah, right!"
And then you hear, "Dadju! GIMS! A photo, please!"
So, you go and play the star, in character, you know?
American-style.
Showbiz!
Show business!
Okay, dude?
Maître GIMS!
I like to win. I like victory.
GIMS IS NOMINATED IN FOUR CATEGORIES.
HE DOESN'T WIN ANY AWARDS.
Yes, of course it's a pain.
People who say otherwise are bitter or have never won anything,
so they say, "Winning isn't what counts."
And so on, and so on.
Purists! That's why I don't like purists.
And the winner is...
-And the winner is... -Dadju!
DADJU WINS FRANCOPHONE BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR.
Yeah!
Thank you.
I was really happy when the kid won.
Dadju had to be the breakthrough artist.
Because he was the breakthrough.
No one else.
Today, there's no one!
No one can say a word!
No one!
If he'd lost, I'd have been mad.
Coming back by private jet!
At that moment, it's like a mini World Cup. You've won!
JULY 16, 2019 GIMS SHOOTS A MUSIC VIDEO WITH STING.
When you've started from nothing,
it seems crazy to be with these people, singing with them,
people who have made their mark on history.
The Nutella has to go right to the edge,
so you can't see any bread at all.
It's folded. It's stuffed. It's loaded.
Say "bismillah" as a blessing and eat.
How's it going? Okay?
-Yeah, a bit... -Police!
-I heard you're feeling a bit sick? -Sick.
STING ARTIST
For those people to notice you,
that means you've done stuff to attract their attention.
They rarely do something with somebody who's just starting out.
We need space for the camera!
Everyone out, please!
ALBUM RE-RELEASE CEINTURE NOIRE
Tell me if I'm okay.
My first name is Gandhi, and my family name is Djuna. Djuna Gandhi.
I have a brother named Trésor, another named Bijou.
There are people named Glorytogod,
Goodadventure. The Congolese are the best with names.
I think I got off lightly with Gandhi.
My dad named me Gandhi
because he really liked him.
I've always been a bit of an orator, always been able to motivate people.
I realized that quite early on.
Names matter.
They say that children, people, wear their names.
I think that's true.
It's helped me a lot.
YOLO NEIGHBORHOOD.
I was born in Kinshasa
in 1986.
That was during the time of Mobutu.
I "discovered," so to speak,
my native land quite late, in a concert with Sexion d'Assaut.
That was the first time I went back, a few years ago now.
That first time was quite a shock.
It's always weird to think that this is your real home.
You're really in your real home.
You're with your people. You were born here.
These are people of your race, of your ethnicity,
your country, your city... That's really something.
I have to go back to Yolo.
It's symbolic.
That's where I tottered around, bare-assed, at the age of two.
Like Winnie the Pooh, with a t-shirt,
with my fat little belly.
You think,
"This is where it all began, right here.
I walked along here. The house was here. I want to be back here right now.
I want to plant myself right on this spot."
SEPTEMBER 2017 RETURN TO THE CONGO.
GIMS RETURNS TO HIS CHILDHOOD NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME.
We're going to the 'hood, my childhood neighborhood.
-Yolo? -Yes.
Hear the news!
GIMS has returned!
GIMS isn't just talk! He acts!
Hear the news!
It was a challenge to go back.
It was a gamble.
And it made a big impression on me.
We, the people of Yolo,
they used to call us "the people of Dallas,"
after the TV show.
DJUNA DJANANA FATHER
They'd call me Bobby, Bobby Ewing...
back then.
My memories of Kinshasa as a small kid are just little flashes.
I can't even say for sure
if they're dreams or sounds. I don't know.
-GIMS, come here. GIMS. -Yes?
Stay in the car and get on the running board.
-On the running board? -Wave to the front and back, okay?
Okay, go ahead.
Thank you.
Hear the news!
GIMS has returned!
GIMS isn't just talk! He acts!
They made that song up themselves
to celebrate my return.
It was like a homage to me.
Thank you!
Next year, I'll do a free concert at the Stade des Martyrs.
I repeat...
Next year, I'll do a free concert at the Stade des Martyrs.
Free, okay?
Thank you.
Thank you, Yolo.
Thank you so much.
I felt self-conscious. I didn't know what to do.
It was a bit embarrassing.
I was embarrassed. I was at a loss.
Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
Take a photo. Come and have a photo taken.
Nobody could've imagined that today he'd be the French number one.
But we could've expected that, like his dad,
he'd be carrying the music gene in his DNA,
the music bug.
At that time, my dad was a star in the Congo,
throughout Africa.
Djuna Djanana's specialty was creating that atmosphere.
He's a guy who chants his songs in a way that gets his audience moving.
I sang with Papa Wemba.
We toured Europe,
Africa, everywhere.
IN THE '80s, PAPA WEMBA WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS IN AFRICAN MUSIC.
HE POPULARIZED CONGOLESE RUMBA AROUND THE WORLD.
I was really little,
and I remember running after the trucks
with the ads for Papa
with his group, Viva la Musica.
We'd run after the trucks.
It was crazy.
We got everyone dancing the mbili mbili.
That was our generation's famous dance.
Mobutu danced the mbili mbili.
He was pleased.
We sang for the birthday of his wife, Bobi Ladawa,
at his home, in Mobutu's house.
I think my dad was sort of affiliated to him.
It's tricky in those countries if you're close to a president,
to a politician.
THE DICTATOR JOSEPH-DÉSIRÉ MOBUTU RULED OVER ZAIRE, NOW CONGO, FROM 1965 TO 1997.
A multi-party system in Zaire?
Never!
That will never happen!
Let that be clear.
Mobutu was bloodthirsty.
He never hesitated to kill his opponents or make them disappear.
It was a pretty tough dictatorship.
IN 1988, WITH ZAIRE IN CRISIS,
THINGS GOT COMPLICATED FOR DJUNA DJANANA, HIS WIFE, AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN.
The people were suffering...
because Mobutu had completely changed.
And then,
I released a song
against the Mobutu regime.
That's why I fled the country.
I didn't want to get arrested.
NOVEMBER 17, 2018
Yeah.
Is he in there?
-Omar? -Yes.
-It's me again, but I brought company. -Yeah?
Big brother!
-How are you, brother? -Good. You?
-Sorry, I brought the cameras. -No problem. How are you?
Yeah, great.
-What's up? -Hey.
Things are good, yeah. I'm in the middle of my tour.
-Yeah? -I'm in the middle of my tour.
Playing Lille the day after tomorrow.
-So, in France, then? -In France, yeah.
-Playing Paris? -No, that's next year.
That'll just be for the Stade de France. I hope you'll come.
-When? -September 28.
-September 28, Stade de France? -Stade de France.
-Holy shit. You realize? -Make a note.
-I already have. -September 28.
September 28, 2019. I'll remember.
-That's crazy. -Yeah.
-Are you freaking out or chill? -Freaking out.
-Yeah, it's scary. -Freaking out. Too many tickets to sell.
You gotta score some goals!
That's the problem! How are you gonna do that?
Okay, makeup time.
See you, Omar.
How do you react to everything that's happened in your life?
It was one of my brothers who was supposed to come to France,
but I got on the plane at the last moment.
So, I keep all that in mind at all times.
I feel privileged because none of this is normal.
My mom and dad took Gandhi,
GIMS, and one of my sisters
and came here.
And they left me and my older brother with one of his brothers,
who raised us over there.
I was supposed to stay and maybe come later or...
But in the end, I was the one who was chosen.
IN 1988, THE TWO-YEAR-OLD GIMS ARRIVED IN FRANCE WITH HIS LITTLE SISTER FITSCHA.
We got to France, and it really was an adventure.
At first, you can get a hotel, but then you run out of resources.
No job, no papers, nothing.
It really was an adventure.
My mom is very reticent to talk about all that.
My dad, too, so...
But I know it really was a matter of life or death.
GIMS WAS JOINED BY HIS ELDER BROTHERS, SATY AND AFI,
AND PUT IN A CHILDREN'S HOME.
CHILDREN WELFARE SERVICE CENTER
We'd stay there all week...
and our parents would come to see us on the weekend.
We'd seen white people before but not so many.
There, we were living with white people.
We were practically the only Black people.
We'd all eat together. We'd be told a story.
Sometimes we'd watch a movie. I first saw E.T. there.
We learned French. We went to school.
We learned all kinds of things we didn't know in Africa.
I discovered lots of things.
I discovered Michael Jackson.
And that's how my life in France began.
Glory, power and beauty often end badly
Hard to see tears through fire
AT THE AGE OF FOUR, GIMS LEFT THE HOME.
THE FAMILY MOVED TO IVRY-SUR-SEINE BEFORE BEING EVICTED.
All adrift at sea
I feel like I am free
In my eyes, you can see
I'm as solid as can be
I did what I had to
Even if it tortures my mind
I 'fess up to my mistakes
My conscience hangs by a thread
My mind's distracted
Don't tell me about living right
I'm living proof That life hangs only by a thread
I did what I had to
That'll do.
PARIS 2:30 A.M.
When I came to Paris, it was here.
This was the first place I lived in.
Number 61.
There was no shower, no bedroom.
It wasn't made for living.
I'd take this street to get to school.
We had a secret passage.
It goes straight through that building over there.
But we didn't know the code, so we'd kick in the door.
It was a shortcut straight to the other side.
Elementary school was a real shock.
I learned French values, French riches, French sources of pride.
And art obviously. That's where it began.
I was hooked straight away.
I acted in my first play in the 4th grade,
The Bourgeois Gentleman.
And at that moment...
I knew I'd found something I could do. I loved it.
Being onstage, being at the forefront, It was the first time I got applause.
That made an impression.
He tried to understand everything about music, about rap.
This was during the time of VHS and cassette tapes.
I had cassettes of...
the Wu-Tang Clan, loads of American stuff,
Dr. Dre and all that.
I'd be rapping. He was a kid,
and he'd be like, "Yeah, wicked!"
And I'd tell him, "Do it like that."
I wrote some lyrics,
"Bro, I'm doing my best Stay chill, I'm not stressed"
Just simple rhymes.
But that's how it was then. It's crazy.
"Bro, I'm doing my best Stay chill, I'm not stressed
Give it a rest"
They were my showcase lyrics.
I'd never have imagined
that he'd really get into it
and make a name for himself: GIMS.
And become... the GIMS!
I'd never have imagined it. No way!
I should've been the GIMS!
Know what I mean? It should've been me.
IN 1995, GIMS' PARENTS SEPARATED.
GIMS WAS LEFT WITH HIS TWO LITTLE SISTERS AND HIS LITTLE BROTHER, BEDJIK.
I lived with my mom
in these squats, always with lots of people,
who were in the same situation we were.
We'd share the house.
It was hardcore. No shower, nothing. We washed in a bucket.
I remember it was blue or red.
You had to heat the water on the gas
and wash using that. I couldn't do it.
Loads of people were on drugs.
I grew up with junkies. Lots of them.
I had an uncle... He wasn't really my uncle, but that's what we called him.
That was his business. I saw him dealing.
And I remember he hid his cocaine in yogurt pots.
One time I found some,
and I tore it open and tasted it.
I had no idea what it was.
I said, "I want to be like you.
Teach me how to do what you do."
And he really yelled at me that day.
One day, when we were all still asleep,
there was a police raid at six in the morning.
They smashed the door in.
You'd get back from school and have no home.
Yeah.
From then on, the family was totally split up.
I said, "Well, that's it."
I quit school,
and I really became a proper street kid.
MC, mercenary from Kinshasa
I'm hitting you And everyone wonders who's doing it
In Kinshasa kids under seven Scream battle cries
Man, it's hard, okay?
The mic? Take it back from me Criticizing? Feel free
You might lose it if you had to leave Your apartment by the end of the month
Good advice from my friend, I didn't know The government would screw me
Relax, that's not asking too much I'm here for the money
I don't like arguing, okay
Okay, okay, okay
I was convinced that I would make it through all right.
I met Maska, Adama, Lefa...
and we created the group Sexion d'Assaut then, in 2001.
We struggled together for years and years.
We went here and there, in the street, freestyling.
I'd say to the guys, "I'm going home." But I wasn't going anywhere.
I'd walk around along the big Parisian boulevards.
I'd go to FNAC and listen to albums.
All I did was dream, nothing but dream.
I'd "sleep," in quotes, in the subway.
The train would reach the last stop, I'd get off, sleep,
and go around Paris again.
I'd sleep at friends' places, in stairwells.
I was in freefall. That's what my life was.
He was sleeping in the street.
-Didn't you know? -No, I didn't know.
He was underage, he couldn't be sleeping on the streets.
He grew up with his pals.
He did what he could.
I know he doesn't blame anyone.
It's never crossed his mind.
He's not like that.
You know, we're a real family. It doesn't matter.
There was no choice.
It was hard to think about all that,
to... block it all out, thinking,
"Why... did my dad leave? I wanted to go with them."
It was so difficult.
Just having a good day, getting enough to eat, et cetera,
that was the most important thing.
Yeah...
APRIL 11, 2019, GIMS' WIFE, DEMDEM, LAUNCHES HER FASHION LABEL.
I think we represent the classic pattern of people who grew up in poverty,
who became rich all of a sudden,
and decided to make up for lost time,
maybe too quickly and badly.
I wasn't prepared for all that.
There's no school to learn about being an artist's wife.
It's not easy being "the wife of..."
You're sort of a shadow, and you want to "exist," in quotes,
to do something.
So, it's not easy. Especially for a woman.
He doesn't like to feel in a position of inferiority.
He's a winner. He wants to succeed. He doesn't like to lose.
He looks at his sales figures very closely.
When a new album is coming out, during the week,
he'll keep himself to himself more, be more reserved,
but I know that's just because he's worried.
Good evening, everyone!
Thanks for coming. Thanks for accepting the invitation.
Thank you, Dan and DemDem.
Thanks a million.
Make some noise for Maître GIMS!
He won't let anyone overtake him, anyone.
You could be his dad, he still wouldn't let you.
My goal is to overtake him.
And his goal is for me to be...
just... to be coming up, but just behind his shoulder.
We're obviously rivals.
It's crazy. It's...
It's a funny feeling.
There's a sense of pride,
but he's also a real rival now. He's put himself in that position.
His career may not be as big as mine yet,
but he will do and perhaps go even further.
I don't know.
Hello, my name is Dadju.
I am...
I'm Maître GIMS' little brother.
Which, of course, makes me DemDem's brother-in-law.
So, obviously the two of them had to force me to come.
No, I'm kidding. It's the family here today being honored.
She's made a success of what she wanted to do.
I'm proud of her.
So, make some noise for DemDem, please!
At the end of 2018, they ranked the best sales in France.
The top three were Johnny Hallyday, GIMS, Dadju.
When I saw that...
I thought, "Now wait! Do you realize what's happening?"
I've never seen anything like it. Two brothers at the top of the ranking.
It's historic. It's crazy.
It hurts when you work really hard, and they say,
"It's because you're GIMS' brother."
And GIMS knew that would happen.
It was bound to. He's the most popular singer here.
So, if you were Zidane's son, you'd be compared to Zidane, you know?
He took a step back from it.
He kept his distance a bit.
And becoming an artist in my own right was a victory for me.
And he was the first to be pleased.
TEN MONTHS BEFORE THE STADE DE FRANCE.
BEFORE THE STADE DE FRANCE,
GIMS' "FUEGO TOUR" PLAYS IN 52 CITIES IN FRANCE AND EUROPE IN SIX MONTHS.
Wait for the train to come to a complete stop before descending.
This is a nice spot for a photo.
I think most people get to know me with the big hits,
but the rappers know very well who I am.
They know very well where I come from, know my journey.
SOPRANO, ARTIST FRENCH RAP AND POP STAR
You know, when every day people say, "You're just a pop singer!"
But you know deep down
that if you started rapping again, you could really light it up.
At some point, your pride takes a hit.
And you go, "Okay, who's rapping now? I'll show you!"
-Good evening, sir! -Hi, sir.
-Okay, bro? Sorry I'm late. -No problem.
How's it going? Cool?
Welcome home.
Welcome home, guys.
-Hello! -How's it going? Cool?
Yeah, and you?
Manon.
SCH.
You need to be careful when asking him for a feature spot.
He's got a crazy flow.
SCH ARTIST
I wouldn't have a rap battle with him, know what I mean?
There's the beast!
You see that?
It's a really long stage.
That's US-style.
GIMS is a huge Eminem fan.
And one thing Eminem was great at was humiliating others on collaborations.
It was his specialty.
And GIMS has that competitiveness.
-You're playing the Stade de France? -Yeah, September 28.
-That's sick! -Yeah.
Gotta sell out.
I'm totally stressed about it.
End up a mega-star, no need for promotion.
That's the ultimate stage. It means that you made it,
you own the place, you don't give a damn anymore.
It doesn't matter radio or not. I've got my audience. They're there.
FIRST RECORDING OF SONG "LOUP GAROU."
This is what a "kicker" looks like, a technical rapper.
It's a guy who can freestyle, who has flow,
who has technique, who can do wordplay,
can speed up, slow down, rap to any production.
And I belong to that species which is dying out, real kickers.
I was recording it. It was just the two of us.
We weren't expecting to record this tune at the time.
It took three quarters of an hour, maximum.
And he got it down, wrote it down.
He had just a few lyrics, and he just wrote it all down.
He didn't want to stop.
He wanted to make a sick verse, and he did!
I always want to do two or three rap numbers in a project.
I still keep an eye on what's happening. It's important.
That's where it all begins.
That's the foundation.
You tore it up, man!
Thanks, man.
-I'm getting on the bus. -Okay.
You need to battle each other, and we'll see who kills who.
No, but...
I already killed Fianso! Who else?
He'll beat your guy. You know he'll beat him.
He'll beat him, but he'll try to respond!
Thank you. That's okay.
TOURING THROUGHOUT FRANCE AND AT THE STADE DE FRANCE ON 09/28/2019
Gonna be huge.
First tune from the new album.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
I get off the stage after a two-hour gig,
I get on the bus, I eat, and I listen to the tune
for hours.
I don't have any lyrics. I wait for inspiration to hit,
to bring me some of its magic, and then go away again.
You need to adapt, to assimilate the song.
It has to... transcend you.
Once it's transcended you, you've got it!
THE NEXT DAY.
He works all the time.
I remember times,
driving around Paris...
H MAGNUM ARTIST
...and not talking for an hour.
And for that hour, he was working away in his head.
He was coming up with a melody.
Then he'd be like, "Hey, I've got a tune!
It's a killer!"
That's not bad.
He gets inspiration everywhere.
He has this Mercedes which you start by pressing a button.
He heard the sound of the engine...
He was like, "Shit, I've got a melody!"
What do you mean you've got a tune?!
He got a tune
from hearing a part of the jingle for The Young and the Restless.
You got the beat going...
You know the synth you put in the background?
Try to play it with just that.
I think we need to change it.
The beat is great, but there are a lot of filters.
He already has the whole song in his head,
and he tells the beatmaker, "Do this. Add that."
FINALIZING THE LYRICS FOR "JASMINE."
"I tried."
Yeah, "I tried," that works.
-It's good. -I'll make a note.
The public are pitiless. They'll judge you the second they hear you.
To me, a really good artist
is someone who can have a hit.
The problem is that while you get that hit,
you're already looking ahead, thinking how you can kill that hit.
Or the hit will kill you.
I'm always defending my title.
That's how it is. That's the scariest thing.
Good.
One more.
RECORDING OF "JASMINE."
You can see he comes from rap. He turns up with nothing written.
He does it there and then,
and it's quick.
It's instinctive writing.
That's a nice little gimmick.
Without the... Got it.
The most sincere tracks, the biggest hits,
are put together very quickly.
No need to take three days.
If you take three days, something's wrong.
Maybe it shouldn't even exist, or you haven't got it.
Great! There's just that bit which...
I'm in my socks, we've got granola,
we've got cookies, and...
the song will come out and be on radio everywhere. All France will listen to it.
Oh, yeah!
My first freestyle was right here,
in this park, with Barack Adama, Maska, Lefa, and the others.
This is where Sexion d'Assaut was born.
Right here, nowhere else.
The hard thing in all that is to find your own style, your own character,
find what is really you.
I think I found my character quite early on.
That made it possible for me to bloom. I didn't search for long.
I became the guy with the sunglasses
one night when there was no moon.
Don't screw me around I take no abuse
You don't calm a Tutsi With an orange juice...
I was freestyling...
and I had sunglasses on.
It was recorded and put online,
but there was no name, they didn't know who I was,
so... they started calling me "the Sunglasses Guy."
People wanted to freestyle, to do battles with the Sunglasses Guy.
We did freestyle battles.
I bought tourist sunglasses at Montmartre.
I needed sunglasses to be recognized.
BLACK M ARTIST - SEXION D'ASSAUT
For several years, we were just doing it for fun,
just to be together.
We shared the same passion. It was our happiness.
It became serious when we realized
that we needed to put some work into it,
then it became serious business.
BETWEEN 2010 AND 2012, SEXION D'ASSAUT SOLD OVER A MILLION ALBUMS.
Back then, our strength was being on the same wavelength.
We were determined. We were the best,
the best European rap group.
We were sure of that.
We doing "Wati by Night" or not?
When I saw him on TV, I went, "Shit!
That's GIMS! It's Gandhi!"
"What's going on? That's my son!"
"He's made it."
The group made history.
They kick-started rap again.
I loved them straightaway.
They said, "Wait, please."
They smashed open the door, and everyone poured through.
They didn't stop.
They released song after song after song.
It was a tidal wave.
They were big rappers, big freestylers.
I listen to rappers today, and I think,
"Yeah, they've fed on Sexion d'Assaut,
and now they rap like that."
They were the first to own and especially to enjoy making hits.
Only yesterday,
I was somewhere where they were listening to...
Saturday night parties
Sometimes disappoint me
They became a legendary group
in just a year.
Make some noise for...
ONE SONG SYMBOLIZES THIS SUCCESS, "DÉSOLÉ," WITH SALES OF 200,000 IN 2010.
At the time, I was embarrassed about singing.
At the time, it was all about rap.
If rappers wanted a singer, it would be a woman.
I think back then male rappers tried to show their masculinity,
that they were the alpha dogs.
The rap game was strong then. The rap game was heavy.
So, singing was something more elegant, more feminine.
So guys didn't dare go there.
But some of them did dare,
and I think when GIMS dared to do it, he came up with his big voice,
and he killed it.
So, I said, "Okay, rock style!"
That's how I saw it, as rock.
The genius came from his voice.
And I think it was that which... blew everyone away.
I think that at first, he underestimated his capacity to be a real singer.
But he soon came to realize that he had a strength compared to others,
and that's why he took off.
-What's up, dude? -All good?
-New jacket, new life? -Stop it!
Part two is more singing.
It's better adapted to GIMS than to me.
THEY'RE WORKING ON BLACK M'S NEXT ALBUM.
I can do it, but...
-Yes, I see. -See?
He has more fun with it.
You know? And the...
before the chorus.
That sounds like just before the chorus.
And then, bang, the chorus!
Yeah.
You need a simpler chorus,
but go into it with a Daft Punk robot voice, like...
Yeah, I see.
When we get together, it's like nothing has changed.
Even if it isn't as strong as before.
That's logical. We aren't together 24/7. We aren't teenagers anymore.
ZAKI PERSONAL ASSISTANT
GIMS?
Ready?
It's time.
Next week, Maître GIMS will join
the select club of artists who've sung at the Stade de France.
The last date is Lille, right?
Yeah, Liévin. The stadium there.
The 19th. Next Wednesday.
Is it night or day? What's going on?
French rap often just copies American rap.
I think a track like "Désolé"...
has no equivalent
in American rap.
They invented something.
Urban pop is a purist's nightmare,
rap sung with choruses.
But I think that it brought something new.
We were able to ignite interest
in people who had no interest in rap.
There isn't a new audience out there waiting for a hero.
There isn't.
All the audiences are accounted for, I swear!
-All of them. -All of them. Yeah. That's very true.
Each audience has its representative, its flag.
"I listen to Bigflo."
"I listen to so-and-so." "I listen to Damso."
"I listen to Orelsan." "I listen to Nekfeu."
All the audiences are taken. Now you have to win them over.
You look at rap today,
everyone sings.
Even the so-called "hardcore" guys
are in soft mode.
After a gig, I usually...
the show goes on.
This famous game, Werewolf.
The village sleeps.
Where are we today? We were in Libreville yesterday.
Now we're in Canada.
You can hear the water over the rocks, rumbling.
And the wolves awaken.
The wolves suddenly wake up and look at each other.
He never plays Werewolf. He's the narrator.
What he likes, what he enjoys,
is seeing that everyone is good.
-There are two wolves here. -No. What's he doing?
Yes, stop it. Come on.
-Are you a wolf, Adama? -No.
-He's a wolf, and so are you. -You're a wolf.
Sorry!
LEFA ARTIST - SEXION D'ASSAUT
Show your card!
He's not a wolf!
-He is a wolf! -He's not!
He's a wolf!
I told you he was a wolf!
MARRAKESH
You'll get dirty.
You'll... No, you'll get dirty.
No, it's in his pocket!
-No. -It's in his hand!
-Zero, zero, zero. -Leave my phone alone.
Let go.
The hardest part is explaining to the kids why you aren't there,
that you're away for six weeks, then back for three or four days, ten days...
That's harder than being on stage for two hours
or doing a 50-show tour.
I know it hurts him a lot to not be around for his children.
That's the worst part of the job for him,
not seeing his children grow up,
not being here for them every day, not having that routine.
That's his biggest regret.
During this month off,
we have to get a week to ten days in a recording studio.
I can't move.
I told you in January I'd be staying in Morocco.
If I go away for two days here, ten days there...
it'll screw everything up, my "vacation," the kids, everything.
Do you realize? It's...
How many years is it since I've had a full week or ten days off consecutively
with the kids in Morocco or whatever?
Hey, let him have the packet!
Let him have it.
January, I said, I'd be in Morocco.
If it's to record, we can bring people here instead.
We have the space.
GIMS MOVED TO MOROCCO IN 2014.
I chose to live in Morocco because I visited a long time ago,
and I loved the atmosphere of the people and the country.
It's not so far away, but it's so different.
So, I came back the following year, and so on, I brought friends.
And then, so much happened.
I met people. I met the king. I met powerful people,
interesting people, people who helped me.
And I decided to move here.
That's what's crazy about this place.
You've got a donkey there and a Range Rover here. That's beautiful.
Medieval over there and Louis Vuitton... Crazy!
The Knights of the Round Table and Louis Vuitton!
It's crazy.
I feel I'm a citizen of the world.
I feel at home in France, in Morocco, in Kinshasa.
They're places where I've always been welcomed.
I feel comfortable because it's a Muslim country.
So, of course I feel...
I feel included in their culture.
I was originally Christian.
I converted in 2004, when I was still at school.
It's so personal. It's so...
It connects to the invisible.
It's something you feel. It's...
It's spiritual.
I was always looking for answers
regarding creation, the world we live in,
where we come from.
And at that time, I was smoking a fair bit of hash,
so I was all over the place.
It opens up your chakras.
You're stoned. You look at the clouds and see all this craziness.
You see the clouds like this.
You have all these weird thoughts in your head.
So, I started getting interested in it at that time.
And I talked about it a lot with the guys from Sexion d'Assaut,
Adama and Lefa.
I was fascinated. We talked about it all the time.
Aïsha, sit there.
Here you go.
When I converted,
I didn't want to drink or smoke.
I just stopped.
It gives you a framework.
Stop that!
He has his own definition of a man, of a father,
and I think that was prescribed by Islam.
Those values are now entrenched in him.
Whatever happens, he always comes back to this line.
I talk about it with him a lot
because people often say our lyrics are innocent.
It's not that we're innocent. It's just that...
we respect our religion so much
that I can't say "son of a bitch" or "motherfucker."
When we go too far, it helps us to come back a little bit...
spiritually.
Gently!
Since converting, back in our Sexion d'Assaut days,
we've done nothing during Ramadan.
It's our spiritual month.
No promotion, no interviews, none of that.
We have him home for a whole month, and we can really enjoy it,
especially the kids.
It's really important for them to have a normal dad.
We want what others try to escape.
We want a routine for that month.
Daddy, look!
That's beautiful!
We want to get away from it all,
from this earthly world,
from all that's...
from showbiz.
And that's the only time when it's possible for us.
When I joined this religion,
with the best intentions, I was...
I was wide open to any guru.
I was, in quotes, a "pure heart" in this religion.
So, anyone malicious could have taken me under their wing
and weaponized me.
IN 2005, GIMS JOINED THE TABLIGH BROTHERS, AN ISLAMIST SECT.
HE WAS FORCED TO PUT AN END TO HIS CAREER
BEFORE CHANGING HIS MIND AND LEAVING THE MOVEMENT.
I had friends that I met in mosques and so on.
We developed together, and each took a slightly different path.
Some of them went off and ended up in Iraq.
This person went off to Iraq
and died...
committed suicide.
People who'd been with me.
"Remember so-and-so? He went to Iraq."
And that freaked me out.
I thought, "Shit, I came close!"
I don't know how I could've ended up.
Terrorism has been confirmed
in the investigation into the murder of two Scandinavians in Morocco.
On Thursday, three men were arrested in Marrakesh
according to authorities.
ON DECEMBER 16, 2018,
TWO SCANDINAVIAN TOURISTS WERE MURDERED IN MOROCCO
BY MEN CLAIMING TO BE WITH ISIS.
ONE WEEK LATER, GIMS WAS ON STAGE IN MARRAKESH.
I'm not going to go into detail.
But I'm a Muslim. I've embraced Islam.
But I do not recognize Islam in what's happened.
I totally disavow what has happened.
And I'm happy to be here tonight. I've been living in Marrakesh a long time.
I reject things like that happening here.
Thank you all.
Thanks to all the teams.
I have to disavow it,
because kids watching me who don't know, who mix everything up,
with the media not doing their job properly...
I have to say no.
I'm a Muslim, and that has nothing to do with me.
I have nothing to do with them.
The Congolese singer is more than a musician. He's a politician.
Music there is so important
that a singer is an ambassador, a representative of the country.
People ask more of him.
GIMS' DRESSING ROOM
You can't be holding up your trophies every day.
"I sold a million, four million albums!"
You sell and sell... and then what?
What's it all for? You with me?
You have to make this thing real
and say, "Yes, I have a lot,
but I'm giving some of it back to the people.
To my people!"
In your case, Congo. Don't, and the Congolese will blame you.
And they'd be right to do so.
Few people have that power. Even if you save two lives.
Thanks to you, some kid might be a doctor tomorrow.
He'll say, "I was in GIMS' association..."
He's right. Twenty years later, you say, "I was in the association."
-It produces results. -Yes, it does!
You have to do it. You have no choice.
If Jérôme Jarre goes to Congo
and does stuff, you'll be embarrassed.
-Do it! -I've done it!
I've been there. I've been to Benin. I've been all over.
-I've been there loads of times! -That's true.
The guys throwing a wrench in the works are Black people.
Except that when you went, you were unknown.
If you go now, you have a different status.
That's the truth, bro.
The problem is that he has to...
manage to do things
without getting appropriated politically,
do things without taking sides.
I'm doing something now, a new version of the Enfoirés charity
with a team, Jean-Jacques Goldman style.
One album per year, thirteen tracks. All profits will be directly donated.
And a concert in Africa.
It will focus on access to water. That's why so many are dying.
Whatever happens, do something. That's all I'm saying. Just act.
Yeah, it's... It really isn't easy.
You always feel that...
you aren't doing enough...
or that you can't do anything.
So every time I go,
we try to go and see the orphans,
and hand out food, clothes, school equipment...
That's all we can do.
I want to go further.
That's what I'm doing.
IN 2020, GIMS DESIGNED A WATCH
FOR A HIGH-END WATCHMAKER FOR THE BENEFIT OF UNICEF
I don't get the money. It goes straight to an organization.
-How are you? Nice! -All right?
The money goes directly to an association for children that we chose together.
This is brilliant!
We have a crazy amount of work to do to bring it to life.
You can show off, but after, you give back.
You can't just make people dream.
You need to give people opportunities, reach out.
I have to do it.
I have to do something for the people.
I have to leave some mark. I have to do something.
TWO YEARS EARLIER.
I can talk about poverty because I did struggle with poverty.
I can talk about wealth because I am now wealthy.
I have experienced both,
so I can talk about it. I can understand.
-Is that him? -Hello, ma'am.
How are you, my boy?
I'm fine. Thank you.
Since I’ve been here, son,
on your father’s side of the family, things have been hard.
Our life is really hard, and we can’t get by.
We barely eat. Life is really tough.
I tell him. I beg him. I cry.
Sylvain and my sisters are in Europe. Two of my children are there too.
Sylvain and Mado are there.
But without Sylvain’s help, things are hard for us down here, son.
Things are really hard for us on your father’s side of the family.
On your father’s side, life treats us badly.
Apparently, she's my grandmother's sister on my father's side.
I just found that out there, on the spot.
I don't know how she got there. She was really old.
Sit here. Tell her to sit here. I’ll be right back.
Sit here on this couch. I’ll be right back.
It goes on all day long, people coming with their problems.
You have to give them money.
It's the culture. You have to.
Hello, how are you?
All right?
We'll get a photo.
I've involuntarily become...
the clan chief, the head of the family, the head of the whole family.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 CONCERT AT SHARK CLUB STADIUM, KINSHASA.
FIRST SOLO CONCERT IN THE CONGO.
He's the boss,
the real boss of Congolese music.
It's incredible.
It's one of the best things to happen to the Congo for many years.
He's the incontestable number one.
Far ahead of me!
The people are with me.
They're there. They're with me. I'm in my country.
At that moment, you think, "Nothing can happen to me here."
It gets to me, but I'm still standing
I'm affected but still standing
I'm trying to make ends meet
It hurts, but I'm still standing
It gets to me, but I'm still standing
I'm affected but still standing
My clothes are dirty and beat
It hurts, but I'm still standing
Still standing
All those symbols are really important,
really important in those moments,
for me, for my parents, for everyone.
I'm happy to be here with my parents in the country of my birth.
They come with me every time I come back here.
It's an honor for me to still have them with me tonight.
He's more mature and is getting in touch with his roots.
All of us, when we were kids, in our parents' houses,
listened to Papa Wemba, Koffi,
Franco, OK Jazz, Tabu Ley.
I was sick of it.
It was that, all day long.
All the music videos and everything all day long,
so I'd had my fill of Congolese rumba.
When you're a youngster,
I think you build up your character...
in opposition to the image you have of your parents.
But then, in a strange yet natural way, some things resurface.
This next one is the pride of the Congo and of all Africa!
You chose this song as the song of the year,
song of the decade!
I want to see all your hands in the air!
Someone kicks in your door, it's Gestapo
I'll find you, Meugui Columbo
It'll sell tons like Gustavo
Coffee, no sugar, here we go
You look good with plenty of dough
Six years on the combo
I handle the flow Mugiwara yes or no
You ask if it's a no-go
Hands in the air, hands in the air
Except the guys in Balmain
Balmain, Balmain
In those pants lookin' like Aladdin
Hands in the air, hands in the air
Except the guys in Balmain
Balmain, Balmain
In those pants lookin' like Aladdin
Come round before midnight
Come round before midnight...
Yeah, I was proud of singing that right then.
That's the place to perform that song.
It makes sense there.
He's doing what his dad used to do with Viva Musica and Papa Wemba,
singing about a sort of lifestyle,
naming the brands,
showing off a bit.
He includes some Lingala language. He's singing about clothes.
It's all part of Congolese culture.
He honored the Congolese people and the country. A lovely gesture.
Paris is really ma-ma-ma-magic!
Dressed to the nines
Loulou and Boutin
Coco 'n' Chanel, Coco!
At some point, you think there's a magic formula,
but that's not true. There isn't.
Because music changes, you need to listen to what's new.
And above all, do what you like.
LOOKING FOR NEW SOUNDS,
GIMS WORKS WITH THE KING OF REGGAETON, COLOMBIAN SINGER, MALUMA.
I like reggaeton, rumba, so I really wanted to work with him.
THREE OF MALUMA'S VIDEOS HAVE BEEN VIEWED OVER A BILLION TIMES ONLINE.
In terms of numbers, and hits on YouTube, and so on,
we're bigger than the Americans.
Latin American music is the biggest thing in music right now.
Nice to meet you.
MALUMA ARTIST
I think these three are good.
So, maybe just...
We can have it in the background, or that in front.
-No, behind. -Or we can mask the...
See, the same kind of hair.
No more aiming at the States.
I have to stay true to what I do and sing in French.
I have to do my own thing.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019
-Is Julien already at the Stade? -Yeah.
Perfect.
Perfect. He told me exactly how many tickets are unsold.
Eighteen. There are 18 left.
They're the last.
Here we are.
D-Day. Just a few hours away.
At this legendary stadium.
I had a good tour with Sexion d'Assaut.
And I've had two good solo tours in France.
It's the biggest gig of my life.
We had to make it to the Stade, for France, for Africa,
for the Congo, for history,
for urban music.
All of that is for us.
72,000 FANS
Stade de France...
welcome to the Fuego Tour!
-Sexion... -D'Assaut!
Thank you!
The Stade de France... it was all about emotion.
It was phenomenal!
He's done it.
Now what's next?
I think he's made history.
Once again, he comes out and boom!
We performed in the Stade de France, and it was full.
Game over.
Yeah, I look weird in my sunglasses.
I never take them off.
But I assure you that I'm really grateful for all that's happened to me.
Thank you so much
for giving me all this for so many years.
Thanks a million.
I'm the first to have done the Stade,
and that's important for urban music.
Nothing would ever be the same.
My friend
My future
My life
Forgive me my poker face
Full of sadness
I've had to lie to you so many times
Or pretend to be someone else
Miles and miles between words and actions
In the end, you saw through my acting
But listen to me, I can explain it all
At times, I've done things I didn't understand
The night has helped me think
In those times, I tell myself I'm going to change
Change
Subtitle translation by: Howard Bonsor