"Immortel" (Immortal) is a song hy
Congolese-French singer and rapper
Gims
Gandhi Bilel Djuna (; born 6 May 1986), better known by his stage name Maître Gims () and more recently just Gims (, ; sometimes stylized as GIMS), is a Congolese-French rapper, singer and songwriter. He grew up in France and currently lives i ...
. It was released on 25 September 2020 as the second single of his album ''
Le Fléau''.
On 21 September 2020, he posted a video on these social networks announcing the first single from the album titled Immortel.
Video clip
The "Immortal" music video has a committed vision as it is inspired by several injustices known to mankind:
The death of Lige Daniels, a 16-year-old African American boy. The latter was killed by hanging on 3 August 1920 by the
Ku Klux Klan, which accused him of having killed an old woman.
The guillotined death of French lawyer, journalist and revolutionary
Camille Desmoulins
Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee ...
on 5 April 1794, at the age of 34. The
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...
, a 46-year-old African-American man, at the hands of
Derek Chauvin, a white police officer on 25 May 2020.
The altercation between the police and the young people directly alludes to the riots in the
French riots
This is a list of incidents of civil disorder that have occurred France since the 13th century, including riots, strikes, violent labor disputes, minor insurrections, and other forms of civil unrest.
13th century
* 1229: 1229 University of Paris ...
, which began in
Clichy-sous-Bois
Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.[Kaaris
Okou Gnakouri Armand Olivier (; born 30 January 1980), better known by his stage name Kaaris (, ; stylized as KΛΛRIS), is a Ivorian-born French rapper, record producer, composer and actor. '' Or Noir'', his major album on Therapy Music / AZ / ...]
and
Soso Maness
Sofien Hakim Manessour (born 21 March 1987 in Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
.
The elephant in the clip is personified by the state. On his Snapchat story, Gims, disguised as a peasant in this part of the clip, explained that this elephant is the source of everything the government can do to its citizens. He explains that the peasant is crushed by debts or even taxes despite his living environment. He also explains that the latter do not forget anyone and that everyone is tracked, which is represented by the memory of the elephant.
The eye of the parallel world in which Gims finds himself is personified by the Internet. In his Snapchat story, he explains that this eye is the source of several cyberbullying that ended in suicides because of social networks. One can think of the death of Amanda Todd, a 16-year-old Canadian teenager, who committed suicide in her home on 10 October 2012, as a result of the harassment she suffered.
The death of
George Stinney
George Stinney Jr. (October 21, 1929 – June 16, 1944), was an African American boy, who at the age of 14 was convicted, in a proceeding later vacated as an unfair trial, and executed, for the murders of two young white girls in March 1944 †...
, a 14-year-old African American boy. The latter was electrocuted on 16 June 1944 following the murders of two white girls: Betty June Binnicker, aged 11 and Mary Emma Thames, aged 8. He will therefore be cleared 70 years later after his execution.
The death of
Eddie Slovik
Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 Am ...
, a 24-year-old US Army soldier in World War II. The latter was killed on 31 January 1945 for desertion by the American military police. He is therefore the only American soldier to have been shot for desertion during World War II.
Charts
Release history
References
{{authority control
2020 songs
2020 singles
French songs
Gims songs
Songs written by Gims