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 independent material until signing a joint-venture record deal with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group in 2012.Read More

Kharbouch released his debut mixtape in 2007 and had his first minor hit with his 2010 single, "Choppa Choppa Down". 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 second studio album, Jungle Rules (2017) saw further success, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and receiving a slight critical improvement. The album was preceded by the hit single "Unforgettable" (featuring Swae Lee), which became Kharbouch's first song as a lead artist to reach the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, also receiving diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 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, 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.