French Montana

Karim Kharbouch, known professionally as French Montana, is a Moroccan and American rapper. Born on November 9, 1984, in Casablanca, Morocco, he is the founder of the record label Coke Boys Records. He is recognized as the most streamed African-born musical artist and became the first African-born artist to receive a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Kharbouch spent the first 13 years of his life on a family estate outside Casablanca, where his main childhood interests were soccer and rap, alongside basketball in his later teens. In the mid-1990s, he immigrated with his family to the South Bronx in New York City. Initially speaking only Moroccan Darija Arabic and French, he learned English in the streets and while attending Roosevelt and Lehman high schools. After his father returned to Morocco, his mother stayed in the United States with the children. Supported initially by welfare, Kharbouch eventually became the primary financial provider for his family.

In his late teens, Kharbouch began performing as a battle rapper under the name Young French. In 2002, he co-created the street DVD series Cocaine City, which featured interviews with hip-hop figures, freestyles, and showcases of underground talent. Operating out of the Bronx alongside childhood friends who formed the early Coke Boys, the series ran through 2010 across 14 volumes and multiple spinoffs. During this period, in 2003, Kharbouch survived a gunshot wound to the head outside a Bronx recording studio.

Kharbouch launched his solo music career with underground projects, releasing his debut mixtape, French Revolution Vol. 1, in 2007 and Live From Africa in 2008. He established an ongoing creative partnership with producer Harry Fraud following their 2009 collaboration New York Minute. After a initial shopping deal with Akon's Konvict Music and management under Debra Antney's Mizay Entertainment, Kharbouch was managed by Gaby Acevedo. In 2012, he signed a joint-venture recording deal combining Bad Boy Records, Maybach Music Group, and Interscope Records.

His debut studio album, Excuse My French, was released in 2013 and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, supported by the lead single Pop That. In 2017, Kharbouch released his second studio album, Jungle Rules, which reached number three on the Billboard 200. The album featured the single Unforgettable, which achieved top-ten chart placement and RIAA diamond certification. He subsequently released the studio albums Montana in 2019 and They Got Amnesia in 2021.

Through Coke Boys Records, originally established in 2008 as Cocaine City Records, Kharbouch has signed artists including Lil Durk, Velous, Chinx, and Harry Fraud. Outside of his recording and business operations, Kharbouch has participated in various charitable and philanthropic initiatives.