After a 10-year-plus process, FrenchMontana became an American citizen 🇺🇸 Read his 2018 cover story for more on the experience: 4thofJuly
, the jovial Morocco-born, Bronx-bred rapper, settled into the private backroom of Beverly Hills’ Mr. Chow, and already -- without even glancing at a menu -- he has ordered a lychee martini, a round of vodka shots for the table and three distinct types of prawns. Then there’s the chicken satay, and the scallops, and the vegetarian lettuce wraps for his little brother, Ayoub, who frequently whips out his phone to amuse French with Instagram comedy videos.
His manager laughs. “You’re just going to walk up in there like ‘Yoooo!’? You’ll steal her thunder!” French concedes -- then, a half-hour later, he strolls in to introduce himself and wish Bullock a happy birthday as if they were childhood pals. To anyone who has listened to hip-hop radio in the last six years, it’s no surprise that the 33-year-old born Karim Kharbouch would be in such a gregarious mood. French Montana came to New York from Morocco as a teen, then spent his early life acclimating to the streets of the South Bronx, selling drugs to provide for his family and ultimately getting shot in the head leaving a recording studio in 2003.
Recently, French returned from a summer spent playing European festivals, from London’s Wireless to a headlining set at Belgium’s Tomorrowland. “I know there are bigger artists than me, but put them on the same stage as me at a festival, and I’ll blow them out of the water,” French says matter-of-factly.
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