Mektoub is a popular word in French borrowed from Arabic, meaning "it is written," or more simply, "destiny."
In the song, GIMS sings "Parfois, c'est l'mektoub" (Sometimes, it's destiny), adding a layer of romantic fatalism to his story. He suggests this powerful, sudden connection was simply meant to be, making it a great word to learn about both modern French and its cultural influences.
COMÈTE shines a blazing love story that streaks across the night sky just like its title. GIMS presents himself as a comet: sudden, dazzling, a little dangerous. He admits he can promise nothing, yet his arrival shakes the listener’s world, tapping them on the shoulder and stealing their attention. The song’s pulsing beat mirrors that rush of first contact, when eyes lock and time seems to freeze.
Behind the flash there is honesty and vulnerability. GIMS wants to slow things down, to learn to know each other before we start, because he knows how fragile hearts can be. Throughout the lyrics he wrestles with ego, destiny (mektoub) and the fear of saying too much. He retraces kilometres like a guilty traveller returning to the scene, hoping to keep the spark alive even if it might disappear at any moment. COMÈTE reminds us that love is a risky journey, but the brilliance of the flight can make every second worth it.
GIMS, born Gandhi Djuna in 1986 in Kinshasa, is one of the biggest stars in French music. His family left the Democratic Republic of the Congo for Paris when he was just two years old, and he grew up in the French capital.
He first made his name as the masked frontman of the rap collective Sexion d'Assaut, one of the groups behind France's rap revival around 2010. Since going solo in 2013 he has become a chart-topping, stadium-filling artist who blends rap, pop and R&B, and he has worked with international names like Sia, Sting, Maluma and Pitbull.