Trottes comes from the verb troquer, which means "to trade" or "to swap", often implying a direct, sometimes bartered, exchange.
In this introspective song, GIMS asks, "Dis-moi c'qui reste quand tu trottes / Tes principes pour de nouveaux codes" (Tell me what's left when you trade / Your principles for new codes). He uses this powerful verb to question the act of abandoning one's core values, making it a memorable and thought-provoking word that captures the song's reflective theme.
GIMS invites us on a reflective journey where the horizon symbolizes everything we long for yet cannot quite see. He questions our habit of asking the same questions while expecting new answers, exposing the human tendency to believe we are always right and to look only in one direction. As he tries to "stop time" and peek beyond that distant line, the artist wrestles with nostalgia for school-day innocence, the weight of personal flaws, and the frustrating belief that “hell is always other people.”
The song balances realism and hope: GIMS knocks on metaphorical doors seeking change, comes face to face with his ego, and begs the sky for forgiveness. Despite disillusionment with changing social codes and digital facades, he ultimately chooses to move forward, determined to believe there is something brighter over that horizon. "HORIZON" is both a confession and a rallying cry—an anthem for anyone who has ever wished for a fresh start while carrying the echoes of the past on their shoulders.
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.