French Montana

Karim Kharbouch (

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]}

Early life

Karim Kharbouch was born on November 9, 1984, in Casablanca, Morocco.^[2] He grew up at the family estate outside Casablanca where he lived for the first 13 years of his life.^[2] Growing up, he was consumed with soccer and rap, describing them as his two favorite childhood hobbies,^[3] before getting into basketball in his later teens.^[14]

In the mid-1990s, Kharbouch left Morocco with his parents and younger brother for

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.^[15][16] The series featured interviews with major and upcoming rappers, personalities, and a focus on street music and hip hop beefs.^[2][15][17] Initially as Young French, he used the DVDs as a means of showcasing his talent as an underground artist, including in it his own original music, freestyles, and collaborations with other artists. The first volume in the series featured Pee Wee Kirkland and Remy Ma, among others.^[15][14] What started out as a medium for developing an audience, quickly grew into one of the top-selling street DVDs.^[16] 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.^[18]

In 2003, Kharbouch suffered a gunshot to the head when he was confronted by two armed gunmen as he was leaving a recording studio in the Bronx.^[19][20][15] 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.^[19][21] French was then hospitalized for several weeks.^[15][21] Upon discharge, he discovered that he was set up by someone close to him and his circle.^[19]

In 2007, French Montana released his debut mixtape French Revolution Vol. 1, which included collaborations with

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.^[23] 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.^[17]

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".^[24]

Harry Fraud, who hails from a musical family background and had interned at a

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.^[29][33] 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.^[33]

2010–2011: "Choppa Choppa Down" and southern breakout

French released his tenth mixtape Coke Boys on September 15, 2010, which included collaborations with

With French's growing buzz in the South, he was approached by Florida-based rapper Rick Ross who invited him to his studio. French, who admits having been a fan of Ross' music, was invited to come "at like three in the morning" where he listened to his upcoming MMG collaborative album Self Made Vol. 1. The two recorded a track for the album, while Ross hopped on the remix to "Choppa Choppa Down".^[28] The new single, which also featured Wiz Khalifa, was released on April 28, 2011, with the music video coming out in June.^[50] An earlier remix featuring Gucci Mane and Wiz Khalifa had been released on March 25. The collaboration would mark the start of French's relationship with Rick Ross and his Maybach Music Group, prompting speculation whether French would be signing to the label.^[28]

2011–2012: "Shot Caller" and New York takeover

With French juggling between Atlanta and New York, his song "

On the night of August 5, 2011, Bronx-based rapper Fat Joe was slated to host Funkmaster Flex's birthday party at Webster Hall. During his performance, Fat Joe brought out French Montana to perform on stage. Controversy erupted as Jim Jones and his entourage, who were reportedly on the adjacent balcony seats, began hurling bottles and glass at the performers.^[52][53] The following day, videos of the incident were uploaded online, depicting French and his entourage facing a barrage of glass and liquor on stage, as they continued performing his rendition of "Hard In Da Paint" while facing the mentioned balcony with the crowd chanting along to it.^[54][55] Some of the members on stage hurled debris back towards the balcony, as Jones and his entourage eventually exited the premises.^[54]

Collaborating with Diddy

Fat Joe and Waka Flocka accompanied French Montana in his video shoot for "Shot Caller" later that month in August. The song, which made reference to

Having received offers from several labels, including Jay-Z's

In September 2012, French Montana was featured on the cover of the 82nd issue of The Fader magazine,^[2] who joined French on his first homecoming to Morocco after seventeen years since his family moved to the United States in 1996. The article describes his journey through Morocco, meeting his mother's family, and eventually his estranged father who is not made aware of his son's coming arrival.^[2] French was accompanied by manager Gaby Acevedo, and youngest brother Ayoub, in addition to Zach Baron and Michael Schmelling of The Fader. The piece ends with an emotional reunion between the father and the two sons, including Ayoub who had previously never met their father before.^[2]

French marked the end of the year with his sixteenth mixtape