French Montana Net Worth, Rapper, Early Life

His work has been nominated for a host of top awards, including Billboard Music Awards, Grammy Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, and Teen Choice Awards. He is also the founder of Coke Boys Records. One of French's most recognized songs is Unforgettable, featuring Swae Lee, which has amassed an incredible 1.4 billion views on YouTube. In this blog post, we will highlight everything you need to know about French Montana, including his early life, career, net worth, controversies, personal life, relationships, and charity work.

Let's get started with everything you need to know about this global music superstar.

Early Life

French Montana is the stage name for Karim Kharbouch, who was born in November of 1984 in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. French lived in Casablanca, at his family's estate outside of the city, until he was 13 years old. During these years, he was heavily interested in rap music and soccer, before later gaining an active interest in basketball.

In the mid-1990s, French, along with his parents and younger brother, relocated to the South Bronx in New York City. At the time, he spoke only Arabic and French, learning English at high school and on the streets. French studied at both Theodore Roosevelt High School and Herbert H. Lehman High School in the Bronx.

Two years after arriving in New York, French's father made the decision that the family should return to Morroco. However, his mother, citing a lack of opportunities in their native country, opted to stay along with her two children. Shortly after the departure of his father, Montana's youngest brother was born.

Alone with 3 children, French's mother was dependent on welfare for financial support, before French himself later become the family's primary breadwinner.

Early Music Career

As we have highlighted, French was obsessed with rap as a young boy, a fascination that continued in New York. His music career can be said to have started when he began performing in rap battles under the stage name Young French.

Along with a friend, French created a number of street DVDs, titled Cocaine City, which drew inspiration from the popular Smack DVD series. These featured interviews with both upcoming and established rappers and focused on hip hop and street music. For French, these DVDs were a way to showcase his talent as an artist, including in them his own original work as well as collaborations with other artists.

The DVD series became a success, running for 8 years between 2002 and 2010, helping to shine the spotlight on the talents of French. During this time, however, French suffered a gunshot to the head (2003) when confronted by armed gunmen in the Bronx. He was hospitalized for several weeks, while one of the gunmen in the incident was shot dead.

In 2013, he would revisit the site of the shooting with a camera crew and recall this near-death experience, as well as his life growing up in the Bronx.

French's debut mixtape, French Revolution Vol. 1, was released in 2007. This mixtape included a number of collaborations, including with artists such as Mazaradi Fox, Uncle Murda, Jae Millz, Tony Yayo, and Rick Ross. The following year, he released his second mixtape, titled Live From Africa, which included a collaboration with the rapper Max B.

Along with Max B, French released a collaborative mixtape titled Coke Wave in 2009. Shortly after, he released The Laundry Man and a second collaborative mixtape was released, titled Coke Wave 2, in November of 2009.

Also during his early music career, French began working with Akon, the Senegalese American singer and record producer. This included a collaboration on a series of tracks on French's seventh mixtape, titled Cocaine Konvicts, which was released in September 2009.

2010 to 2012

French's tenth mixtape was released in September of 2010, titled Coke Boys. This included collaborations with artists such as Akon, Three 6 Mafia, Fat Joe, and Gucci Mane. One of the tracks, Choppa Choppa Down, became a hit through the south of the country on radio and in clubs.

In November, it was reported that French had signed with Atlanta-based management firm Mizay Entertainment. French's eleventh mixtape, Mister 16: Casino Life, included the hit Shot Caller. He released 3 more mixtapes in 2011, making it his busiest year of releases since 2009. Throughout 2011 and into 2012, Shot Caller became one of the most popular tracks on urban contemporary radio across the United States.

2012 to 2013

French, with his popularity on the rise, received offers from a host of labels, including Kanye West's GOOD Music and Jay-Z's Roc Nation. However, he announced that he would be signing with Bad Boy Records, part of Interscope Records. In early 2012, it was also announced that French would sign a joint venture between Bad Boy Records and Maybach Music Group, and that Diddy and Rick Ross would be executive producers for his debut studio album.

Stay Schemin', a Rick Ross track that featured Drake and French, became one of the become hits of 2012. In the summer of 2012, the first single from his upcoming album, Pop That, was released, featuring Lil Wayne, Ross, and Drake.

Pop That was an instant and lasting success and was certified "platinum" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album, Excuse My French, was delayed until 2013. In the meantime, French released his fifteenth mixtape, Coke Boys 3, and sixteenth, Mac & Cheese 3.

Prior to the release of Excuse My French, another single, titled Freaks and featuring Nicki Minaj, was released. Another track from the album, titled Ain't Worried About Nothin, was released in April of 2013. When the album itself was released, it was met with mixed critical reviews and strong commercial sales.

Throughout 2013, French appeared as a featured artist on a host of singles. These included works by ASAP Ferg, Joe Budden, Massari, and Will.i.am.

2014 to 2015

In early 2014, French's seventeenth mixtape, Coke Boys 4, was released. This includes collaborations with the likes of Lil Durk, Snoop Dogg, MGK, Wiz Khalifa, MeetSims, and Mally Mall. Later that year, he collaborated with Rick Ross and Diddy on Ross' track Nobody.

He would also collaborate with Jennifer Lopez, likewise from the Bronx, on her comeback single I Luh Ya Papi, which was an international hit. French joined Jay-Z, Ross, and others on They Don't Love You No More, by DJ Khaled, another popular track of that year.

In December of 2014, French released a stand-alone single, Bad Bitch, which featured Jeremih. His eighteenth mixtape, The Appetizer, was later released. In 2015, he collaborated with Charisse Mills, a pop-opera artist, for the track Champagne.

2016 to Present

French's twenty-first mixtape, MC4, was originally going to be released as his second studio album. However, this plan was later canceled due to leaks. Instead, he released Jungle Rules, his second studio album in July of 2017. The track Unforgettable peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 10 in 15 countries around the world.

French's third studio album was released in December of 2019, titled Montana. This album includes the song Writing on the Wall, a collaboration with Post Malone, Cardi B, and Rvssian.

His fourth studio album, They Got Amnesia, was released in November of 2021. It featured a number of appearances, including from the likes of Rick Ross, John Legend, Pop Smoke, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, Lil Tjay, 42 Dugg, and Ty Dolla Sign. In 2022, he released Je M'appelle, a song with Tion Wayne and fellow Moroccan-British artist Benzz.

Throughout his career, French has been associated with a number of labels. These include Epic, Coke Boys, Montana, Bad Boy, Maybach Music, Interscope, Konvict Muzik, and Evil Empire.

Net Worth

It is estimated that French Montana has a net worth of approximately $24 million. He often takes to social media to highlight his extravagant lifestyle, which includes a number of lavish houses and cars. In 2016, French paid $3.3 million for Selena Gomez's Calabasas, California home.

It is worth mentioning that French has done his share of charitable work. For example, he raised more than $500,000 to build a Ugandan hospital following the filming of the music video for Unforgettable in 2017. He himself donated $100,000 to raise awareness about the Mama Hope Organization in Uganda.

As a result of his charity work in Uganda, French was given the honor of Global Citizen Ambassador, the first time such an honor has been bestowed upon a rapper.

Exotic Pets

One interesting element of French Montana's life is his ownership of a number of pets, including exotic animals. In 2013, he posted on Instagram that he purchased 2 baby tigers having "Got so high last night." French was photographed holding 2 tiger cubs, one in each hand.

The tigers, named Tina and Ike, were later featured in the music video for The Gifted, which featured The Weeknd. He later reported that he had given the tigers away shortly after purchasing them, given the difficulty in caring for and feeding them.

Around the same time, he became the owner of a pet monkey, called Julius Ceasor. In addition to these more exotic animals, French is also known to have a number of dogs as pets.

Relationships and Family Life

In 2007, French married Deen Kharbouch. They had separated by 2012 and their divorce was finalized in 2014. Between them, Fench and Deen have a son, who was born in October of 2010.

In 2014, French began dating Khloé Kardashian, sister of Kim, shortly after her own split from ex-husband Lamar Odom. They ended their relationship in September of that year, after dating for 8 months. French later admitted that the pair remained very good friends and shared a special relationship.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is French Montana's birthday?: November 9.

How many studio albums has French Montana released?: 4 (Excuse My French (2013), Jungle Rules (2017), Montana (2019), They Got Amnesia (2021)).

Who are French Montana's musical influences?: Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Snoop Dogg, and Wu-Tang Clan.

French Montana Net Worth and More: The Facts

French Montana has had a long and impressive career within the music industry. He has collaborated with a huge number of well-known faces and his tracks have proved popular across the globe. With an estimated net worth of around $24 million, it is safe to say that he has had a successful and profitable career to date.

Following on from his most recent studio album, we are all curious to see what he comes out with next. Like this blog post on French Montana's early life, career, relationships, controversies, and more? Be sure to check out our other informative articles, like this one, on a wide range of interesting topics.

Our net worths are for entertainment purposes only. We do our best to provide accurate figures, but we cannot guarantee their accuracy. The figures are based on public information and estimates, and may not reflect the true value of assets or liabilities.