French Montana
Karim Kharbouch, known professionally as French Montana, is a Moroccan and American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York City with his family at the age of 13 and began his career as a battle rapper in the early 2000s — under the name Young French. He first gained recognition hosting the locally-tailored DVD series Cocaine City during the 2000s, which centered around interviews of hip hop figures. He pursued a recording career while doing so, releasing several underground projects before signing with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group, in a triple-joint venture with Interscope Records in 2012.
Kharbouch's debut studio album, Excuse My French, peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 despite critical failure; its lead single, "Pop That", peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 single, "Unforgettable", peaked within the chart's top 10, and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. It preceded his second studio album Jungle Rules, which was met with similar commercial success—peaking at number three on the Billboard 200—and a critical incline. His third and fourth albums, Montana and They Got Amnesia, were both met with lukewarm critical and commercial reception; the latter served as his final release on a major label.
Kharbouch founded the record label Coke Boys Records in 2008, which has signed Chicago rapper Lil Durk, as well as fellow New York artists including Velous, Chinx, and record producer Harry Fraud. He is the most streamed African-born musical artist, and is the first African-born artist to have a diamond-certified song by the RIAA. In 2024, "Unforgettable" became the most-streamed song from New York. Outside of music, Kharbouch has been prolific in charitable and [|philanthropic endeavors].
Early life
Karim Kharbouch was born on November 9, 1984, in Casablanca, Morocco. He grew up at the family estate outside Casablanca where he lived for the first 13 years of his life. Kharbouch has claimed that he has Moroccan, Ethiopian, and Somali ancestry. Growing up, he was consumed with soccer and rap, describing them as his two favorite childhood hobbies, before getting into basketball in his later teens.In the mid-1990s, Kharbouch left Morocco with his parents and younger brother for New York City, where they settled in the South Bronx. Kharbouch spoke only his native languages of Moroccan Darija Arabic and French when he first arrived, and learned English in the streets and in the Bronx high schools of Roosevelt and Lehman. After struggling for two years, his father decided they would move back to Casablanca, but his mother opted to stay back with their children citing lack of opportunities back home. His mother was pregnant with his youngest brother at the time, who was born in the United States shortly after his father departed for Morocco. With three children, his mother was dependent on welfare for financial support. Kharbouch eventually found himself the primary breadwinner for the family.
Career
2002–2010: Cocaine City Records
Kharbouch began his career as a battle rapper in his teens under the name Young French. In 2002, Kharbouch and close friend Cams created a series of street DVDs called Cocaine City, drawing inspiration from the Smack DVD series popular at the time. The series featured interviews with major and upcoming rappers, personalities, and a focus on street music and hip hop beefs. Initially as Young French, he used the DVDs as a means of showcasing his talent as an underground artist, including in it his original music, freestyles, and collaborations with other artists. The first volume in the series featured Pee Wee Kirkland and Remy Ma, among others. What started out as a medium for developing an audience, quickly grew into one of the top-selling street DVDs. The series ran for eight years between 2002 and 2010, totaling 14 volumes, and multiple spinoff films. Based out of the Bronx, Kharbouch ran the series with the help of childhood friends including Brock, Droop Pop and Cheeze, who went on to become the first rappers that formed the Coke Boys.In 2003, Kharbouch suffered a gunshot to the head when he was confronted by two gunmen as he was leaving a recording studio in the Bronx. The incident resulted in one of the gunmen dead, in what is believed to be a case of "friendly fire" by one assailant against the other. French was then hospitalized for several weeks. Upon discharge, he discovered that he was set up by someone close to him and his circle.
In 2007, French Montana released his debut mixtape French Revolution Vol. 1, which included collaborations with Uncle Murda, Jae Millz, Mazaradi Fox and Tony Yayo. The track "Quarter to Eight" was the first of many collaborations with Rick Ross. The J. Cardim-produced "Straight Cash" was French's first underground hit. In 2008, he released his second mixtape, Live From Africa. The song "Waavvy" was the first collaboration with rapper Max B.
French Montana and Max B released their debut collaborative mixtape Coke Wave on February 6, 2009. A few weeks later, on February 23, Max B's mixtape Quarantine was released, while French released his The Laundry Man on February 24, 2009. The two artists resumed concentrating on their solo records, until the release of their second collaborative mixtape Coke Wave 2 in November that year.
French was included in XXL's Freshman Class of 2012. At that time he had already been signed to Bad Boy Records following the success of his single "Shot Caller", and had just signed a joint-venture between Bad Boy and Maybach Music Group.
Harry Fraud and the Chinatown raid
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, close friend and producer Harry Fraud revealed first meeting French Montana during a recording session at a studio in Chinatown. Fraud recalls recording a song for someone which French happened to have a guest feature on. In an unusual turn of events, the building was raided by police after a tip-off that there were counterfeit Gucci and Louis Vuitton purses being manufactured at the same building. Having lost his studio spot, Fraud went on to form his own studio in Brooklyn, where the two "met and formed a bond".Harry Fraud, who hails from a musical family background and had interned at a recording studio, was still unknown professionally at the time. The two released their first collaboration "New York Minute", featuring Jadakiss, from French's fifth mixtape Mac Wit Da Cheese released on April 19, 2009. Following its success, the two artists recorded "We Playin In The Wind" from French's sixth mixtape The Laundry Man 2 released on June 29. With "New York Minute" still buzzing in the city, rapper Ma$e would approach French Montana to hop on the remix, included in French's eighth mixtape Coke Wave 2 released in November. Since then, Harry Fraud's production has been a staple among French's music, and Fraud has since ventured out into working with various other artists. Fraud gained mainstream attention when his track with French Montana "Shot Caller" became one of the most added tracks on urban contemporary radio in 2011–2012.
Gaby Acevedo and signing with Akon
Starting in 2009, French Montana had signed a deal with Akon and his Konvict Music label. The two previously met in Miami in 2008, and later appeared on DJ Green Lantern's "Invasion Radio" on SiriusXM's Hip-Hop Nation. The pair collaborated on a series of tracks including their first single "Married to the Streets" on French's seventh mixtape Cocaine Konvicts released on September 25. In later interviews, French revealed that he had a "shopping deal" with Akon for a six months to a year period. "A shopping deal is when an artist takes a liking in you, and they try to take you to a label to get you signed. I was gonna go get signed to his label, but they were going through problems with Interscope. my deal was over with him, so I went and did my own thing", claimed French in his 2012 interview with Complex. Akon, whom French refers to as "big brother", would continue to maintain a relationship with French, collaborating on songs together despite the unsuccessful deal between the two.French had met Akon through their mutual friend Gaby Acevedo. Acevedo was then-president of SRC Records – under founder and chairman Steve Rifkind — the label first responsible for breaking out artists such as Akon, David Banner, and Remy Ma, then a member of Fat Joe's Terror Squad. Acevedo, whom French had befriended during his time working on the Cocaine City DVDs, had put his music on to Akon who then approached French inviting him to meet him in Florida. Although the Akon deal was short-lived, Acevedo would eventually go on to become French's manager following his mainstream breakout. In 2012, with Rifkind leaving SRC's parent company Universal Music Group in September, the SRC imprint would close shop as well. With French's management deal with Mizay Entertainment having recently ended, Gaby Acevedo would postpone retirement to become his new manager, where he now spends his time on the road touring with French.