French Montana

French Montana
French Montana
	French Montana in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Karim Kharbouch
Also known as	Young French
Born	November 9, 1984 (age 39); Casablanca, Morocco
Origin	South Bronx, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper; singer; songwriter; record producer;
Discography	French Montana discography
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Gamma; Epic; Montana; Coke Boys; Bad Boy; Maybach Music; Interscope; Konvict; Evil Empire;
Spouse(s)	Deen Kharbouch (m. 2007; div. 2014)
Children	1
Website	frenchmontana.com

Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: كريم خربوش [kæɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ]; born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper.^[1] Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 13.^[2]^[3] He embarked on a musical career in 2002, releasing a slew of underground material until signing a joint-venture record deal with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group in 2012.

Kharbouch first gained recognition hosting the locally-tailored DVD series Cocaine City during the 2000s, which focused on interviews of hip hop figures and personalities. His debut studio album, Excuse My French (2013) was met with generally unfavorable reception despite commercial success, mainly stemming from its lead single, "Pop That" (featuring Rick Ross, Drake, and Lil Wayne).^[4] His 2017 single, "Unforgettable" (featuring Swae Lee) peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It preceded the release of his second studio album Jungle Rules (2017), which was met with further commercial success—peaking at number three on the Billboard 200—as well as an improvement in critical reception. His third and fourth studio albums, Montana (2019) and They Got Amnesia (2021) were released to lukewarm critical and commercial response.^[5]

Kharbouch founded the record label Coke Boys Records (previously known as Cocaine City Records) in 2008, which has signed Chicago rapper Lil Durk, as well as fellow New York artists including Velous, the late Chinx, and record producer Harry Fraud.^[6] 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. Outside of music, Kharbouch has been prolific in charitable and philanthropic endeavors.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

^ Halperin, Shirley (September 30, 2020). "Bebe Rexha Signs With SAL&CO Management, Home to The Weeknd, French Montana". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference fader was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference SDinterview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "French Montana's "Excuse My French" Pushed Back Again". HotNewHipHop. February 8, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "French Montana Signs Velous to Coke Boys". HNHH. July 7, 2014.
^ AllHipHop.com - Hip-Hop Culture Without Boundaries. (2022, August 29). French Montana Becomes First African-Born Artist To Earn A Diamond Single. AllHipHop. https://allhiphop.com/news/french-montana-becomes-first-african-born-artist-to-earn-a-diamond-single/
^ Centeno, T. M. (2022, August 26). French Montana Becomes The First African-Born Artist To Go Diamond. iHeart. https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-08-26-french-montana-becomes-the-first-african-born-artist-to-go-diamond/
^ Grant, S., Grant, S., & Grant, S. (2022). French Montana becomes first African born artist to go RIAA Diamond with ‘Unforgettable’ The Source - the Magazine of Hip Hop Music,Culture and Politics. https://thesource.com/2022/08/29/french-montana-becomes-first-african-born-artist-to-go-riaa-diamond-with-unforgettable/
^ Elibert, M. (2023, February 21). French Montana Reacts To Being Most-Streamed African-Born Artist. HipHopDX. https://hiphopdx.com/news/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artists
^ Cowen, T. W. (2023). French Montana reacts to being named most streamed African-Born artist. Complex. https://www.complex.com/music/a/tracewilliamcowen/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artist
^ Velasquez, A. (2023b, February 19). French Montana named the most streamed African-born artist. REVOLT. https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-02-19/274397/french-montana-named-the-most-streamed-african-born-artist/
^ Corrine, A. (2023, February 21). VIBE.com. VIBE.com. https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artist-1234736644/

[1] Halperin, Shirley (September 30, 2020). "Bebe Rexha Signs With SAL&CO Management, Home to The Weeknd, French Montana". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[fader-2] Cite error: The named reference fader was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[SDinterview-3] Cite error: The named reference SDinterview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] "French Montana's "Excuse My French" Pushed Back Again". HotNewHipHop. February 8, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.

[:0-5] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] "French Montana Signs Velous to Coke Boys". HNHH. July 7, 2014.

[7] AllHipHop.com - Hip-Hop Culture Without Boundaries. (2022, August 29). French Montana Becomes First African-Born Artist To Earn A Diamond Single. AllHipHop. https://allhiphop.com/news/french-montana-becomes-first-african-born-artist-to-earn-a-diamond-single/

[8] Centeno, T. M. (2022, August 26). French Montana Becomes The First African-Born Artist To Go Diamond. iHeart. https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-08-26-french-montana-becomes-the-first-african-born-artist-to-go-diamond/

[9] Grant, S., Grant, S., & Grant, S. (2022). French Montana becomes first African born artist to go RIAA Diamond with ‘Unforgettable’ The Source - the Magazine of Hip Hop Music,Culture and Politics. https://thesource.com/2022/08/29/french-montana-becomes-first-african-born-artist-to-go-riaa-diamond-with-unforgettable/

[10] Elibert, M. (2023, February 21). French Montana Reacts To Being Most-Streamed African-Born Artist. HipHopDX. https://hiphopdx.com/news/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artists

[11] Cowen, T. W. (2023). French Montana reacts to being named most streamed African-Born artist. Complex. https://www.complex.com/music/a/tracewilliamcowen/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artist

[12] Velasquez, A. (2023b, February 19). French Montana named the most streamed African-born artist. REVOLT. https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-02-19/274397/french-montana-named-the-most-streamed-african-born-artist/

[13] Corrine, A. (2023, February 21). VIBE.com. VIBE.com. https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/french-montana-most-streamed-african-born-artist-1234736644/

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