“Laissez Passer” is Gims’ playful way of saying make room, the music will speak for itself. Through imagined conversations with authority figures – a worried teacher, a police officer, a pushy politician – the Congolese-French superstar shrugs off criticism and hypocrisy with humor and swagger. Whenever they tell him to turn the volume down or follow their rules, he answers: “Vas-y, cause toujours, on s’en tape.” In other words: keep talking, I’m not listening.
Beneath the catchy chorus and the nonsensical “Ba-da-da” chant, the song carries a message of self-confidence and protection. Gims stands as a bouclier – a shield – for anyone hurt by judgment or injustice, promising to help them forget all the harm. It is a feel-good anthem about trusting your own vision, blasting negativity away with music, and dancing past the noise of doubters and corrupt officials. Turn it up and let the beat clear the path!
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.