Karim Kharbouch popularly known by his stage name French Montana is a Moroccan-born American rapper with an estimated net worth of $22 million as of 2022. Coke Boys Records and its predecessor, Cocaine City Records, were both founded by him.
With his song “Unforgettable,” French Montana recently accomplished a significant feat. It is the only song he has written that has charted in the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
We will cover everything you need to know about French Montana in our article today.
Early Life
Karim Kharbouch was born in the year 1984 in Casablanca, Morocco. He spent the first 13 years of his life at the family estate outside of Casablanca, where he was raised. He describes his two favorite childhood pastimes as soccer and rap. He later started playing basketball.
Cocaine City Records
Young French was the stage name that French Montana used when he first started out as a combat rapper. French and his close friend Cams produced a series of street DVDs called Cocaine City in 2002, taking inspiration from the then-popular Smack DVD series.
He received a significant break in 2009 when he joined Akon’s Konvict Muzik record label. Unfortunately, nothing came of this agreement, and the French decided to leave Akon’s deal after two years and sign with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records instead. With the song “Choppa Choppa Down” in 2010, he achieved his first major success.
His first official studio album titled “Excuse my French” was released in the year 2013. The album peaked at #1 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop and US Rap charts, #4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and #11 in Canada.
Four years later his second album “Jungle Rules” was released which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200, US Rap, US R&B/Hip-Hop charts, and at #2 in Canada.
Philanthropy
After Montana traveled to Uganda in 2017 to record the music video for “Unforgettable,” he began doing philanthropic activities. His work in Uganda helped generate $500,000 to build the Suubi hospital, which is used by more than 300,000 Ugandans.
French received the title of Global Citizen Ambassador in 2018 in recognition of his humanitarian work in Uganda, an East African nation. This was the first time a rapper had received the distinction.
Awards
He was nominated 10 times under different categories for prestigious awards like African Muzik Magazine Awards, BET Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Grammy Awards.
He has won two awards by BET Hip Hop Awards for Best Club Banger and Best Collabo, Duo or Group category in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Love for Pets
French Montana has owned a variety of pets, including dogs and exotic creatures like tigers and monkeys. French Montana uploaded a photo on Instagram with the caption, “Got so high last night bought 2 baby tigers.”
French’s music video for “The Gifted,” which starred friend and artist The Weeknd, notably featured the tigers, Ike and Tina. The rapper revealed in 2014 that he had abandoned the two tigers not long after obtaining them, citing the challenges of feeding and caring for the creatures.
Real Estate Investment
French Montana purchased an 8,000 square-foot Calabasas home in 2016 for $3.3 million which was later sold in September 2021 for $5 million according to celebrity net worth.
He invested $8.42 million in a house in Hidden Hills, California, in December 2020. The house was sold by NBA player Paul George.
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