French Montana

Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: كريم خربوش [kæɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ]; born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 13. 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). 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.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. 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.

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