French rapper, musician and composer Gandhi Juna, better known under the pseudonym Maitre Gims, was born on May 6, 1986 in Kinshasa, Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
The boy grew up in a musical family: his father is a member of the popular music band Papa Wemba, and his older brothers are closely associated with the hip-hop industry.
Initially, the family lived in the Congo for a long time, when Juna was 7 years old, the family moved to France. From childhood, the child showed musical abilities - he loved to sing, dance, compose his own songs.
While studying at school, he, together with friends, organized the Sexiond' Assault group, which still exists today.
The artist released his first solo track Coup 2 Pression together with the band. In the same period, he began working with the popular artist JR, creating a joint hip-hop project Prototype-3015.
Initially, he used the pseudonym Le Fleau, which means curse in French.
Later, he decided to change his name to Gims, after some time he supplemented his creative pseudonym with the beautiful musical name Mater.
As part of an independent duo, Gims worked on various musical projects and released several mixtapes. Productive work and a desire to be heard led the performers to the manager and producer Dawala.
Then Gims left the duo and concentrated on the work of the musical group and on his own work.
In 2007 he worked as a producer in the band, wrote instrumental pieces and released his mini-album Pour ceux qui dorment les yeux ouverts ("For those who sleep with their eyes open"). The release featured collaborations with Sexion d'Assault, French rapper Koma and singer Carole.
Continuing his musical career in the group, Mater Gims became a famous freestyler, thanks to numerous victories in various rap battles.
He also took part in a collaboration on the Prototype-3015 record called Le Renouveau ("Renaissance").
In 2011, he took part in a track from his father Juna Janana's album Djanana. In 2012 he became the author and artist of the popular comic Au Coeur Du Vortex.
Solo work of Maître Gims
In 2013, Mater Gims began an active promotion to promote his debut solo record. Also released a series of 6 consecutive releases which included various unpublished material from Ceci N'est Pas Un Clip.
On March 1, 2013, he released a single from the forthcoming album Meurtre par strangulation (MPS). Two weeks later, he released his second track J'metire, which debuted at number one on the French national SNEP singles chart.
Subliminal's debut album was a huge commercial success, firmly occupying a leading position - 2nd position in the French SNEP singles chart and 1st in the French Belgian singles chart.
In December, he released a mini-album of musical additions in the form of separate demo tracks of his debut album. After the release, he created his own label MMC (Monstre Marin Corporation).
The MMC label was a branch of Universal Music France, which made it one of the most influential in the French music industry.
The musician worked with such popular French musicians as rapper Bedjik (younger brother), rapper Yanslo, singer Vitaa, DJ Arafat, DJ Last One.
On August 28, 2015, the second disc of Master Giems, Mon coeur avait raison, was released. The album itself was released in two parts. The first Pilule bleue had 15 tracks, the second Pilule rouge had 11. The two parts reached number 1 on the SNEP chart and the Belgian Ultra Pop chart.
Debut single from the album Est-cequetum'aimes? peaked at number 1 on the Italian chart and number 3 on the French SNEP chart, gaining popularity in many European countries.
The third album of the musician Ceinture Noir was released on March 23, 2018. The release itself included 40 tracks, among which was the work with the popular American DJ Super Sako on a remix of the Armenian song MaGna, tracks with the American rapper Lil Wayne, French rapper Sofiane and singer Vianney.
In 11 weeks, the album climbed to number 1 on the SNEP charts and stayed there for several months.
Mater Gims at present
In April 2019, Mater Gims re-released his third album, changing the name to Transcendance. The release added 13 more tracks and collaborations with J Balvin, Dadju's brother, English musician Sting.
The musician is actively working on his label, promoting new French DJs in the music industry. He is married and has four children. He lives in Morocco with his family.
Despite the fact that most of his life he preached Catholicism, in 2004 he became an adherent of Islam, changing his middle name to Bielel.
Inspired by Nate Dogg, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, 50 Cent, Eminem. Gims' music was created on a combination of dance hip-hop, rap, pop music with Latin elements. Also involved in the creation of remixes of popular world hits.
