05:00, January 23, 2022
The Congolese singer-songwriter and rapper Gims, known for unifying and mainstream hits like Bella Where Known like never before, is under the fire of several controversies. His rant against those who wished him a happy new year, because Christmas or the New Year are not Muslim holidays, in particular inflamed social networks. He comes back in the JDD for the first time on the “bad buzz” aroused by this release.
You caused an uproar in early January by asking your fans to stop wishing you a happy new year. What do you say today?
This video, I totally regret it. It was a UFO, I don’t usually communicate like that. I didn’t want to hurt people. Faith is intimate. Social networks should not be a springboard to talk about this. It in no way changes my relationship with my audience, animist, Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim… This video was made spontaneously, late at night. I am really sorry.
Especially since you are of Catholic culture. You converted to Islam in 2004.
Yes, my mother is still Christian, like my father, my brothers… You would have to put a cameraman with me for forty-eight hours to see how I work, the number of people from all walks of life that I meet. There I was tired, I had just watched a lot of snaps for the New Year. I was doing the con.
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When I saw my face everywhere, on all the channels, yes, it scared me
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In the middle of the presidential campaign, are you afraid of being picked up?
When I saw my face everywhere, on all the channels, yes, it scared me. I could not sleep. I was in Morocco at that time, in Marrakech, my main residence for a very long time.
We lend you a second wife in Morocco. Are you polygamous?
It is totally false. I live with DemDem and the children. I got married only once. I never said it publicly. I never wanted to dwell on this rumor. The rumor is extinguished when it reaches the ear of the intelligent. I trust the intelligence of the public.
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Your wife, DemDem, maintained the vagueness by recently responding to one of her followers who asked her opinion on polygamy on Instagram: “I accept everything that comes from my religion.”
I had not seen this message.
But the rumor did not die out. Why didn’t you talk about it earlier?
They don’t talk to me about that. My audience never talks to me about it. It came from somewhere else, I don’t know exactly where. This rumor has existed for a very long time, since the time when I was part of the group Sexion d’Assault. Living in Morocco must have brought this ambiguity. Then it was relayed by the media and it got carried away.
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I do not support Valérie Pécresse
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You are at the heart of another controversy; we lend you support presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse
. Is it true?
No, I do not support Valérie Pécresse. We brought out an old video shot when she was not a candidate. I support her approach, as president of the Île-de-France Region, for young talents [le chanteur est parrain depuis 2019 du Marathon des talents, une opération lancée par le conseil régional francilien]. I would have done it with all the other policies, except with the extremes. In this video, people think I’m calling for a vote, even though I don’t have French nationality. I can’t vote myself!
You applied for French nationality in 2018. You were refused, why?
It’s one of my biggest regrets. All my memories are in France: I was born in Kinshasa but I arrived here when I was 2 years old. I am French in the soul, in the heart. I miss “the official paper”. But that is not up to me. Apparently the refusal is linked to an offense I allegedly committed when I was a minor. But my locker is blank. I will reapply for nationality. I am a very patient person, not one to give up.
With your songs in French, you contribute to the dissemination of our language…
I am a French flag all by myself. When I travel to Qatar, to the United States… I present myself as a French artist. Not Congolese. I met American students who learn French by studying my songs.
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Don’t take off my glasses, it’s my ultimate refuge
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Usually very discreet about your private life, you refuse to be photographed without your glasses. Why?
I chose not to show my children, to preserve them. My wife only appeared in one of my clips in 2016, we both thought it was good at that time. I prefer to maintain the mystery, behind my glasses. Not removing them is my ultimate refuge. And without my glasses, no one recognizes me. I want to keep this. At the time, during concerts with Sexion d’Assault, I took them off and went into the audience to watch the others. It is a freedom.
Are you hurt by these rumors?
I find that unfair. But it’s part of the road to success, strewn with pitfalls.
You seem to take it philosophically.
I really like philosophy! It is necessary to relativize, to cushion certain falls. There are things that should not be taken as they are.