French Montana

French Montana - born Karim Kharbouch - was born in Rabat, Morocco, but just in case you’re thinking that might mean that he’s a different breed of rapper to the lavish-living materialists that have dominated the scene for the past decade or so, it’s probably worth pointing out that he has his own record label, and it’s called Cocaine City Records. Indeed, Montana was raised in South Bronx, New York from the age of thirteen, and there became ingratiated into a society that was ripe for hip hop; taking all his cues from the legendary East Coast likes of Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. and Wu-Tang Clan, Montana began to produce mixtapes in 2002, a series that would eventually see him sign with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Records in a joint venture deal. Since then, he’s enjoyed commercial success, with his debut album, Excuse My French, going in at number four on the U.S. charts last year. It was, however, widely savaged by critics, who saw Montana’s aggressive, repetitive sound and shallow lyricism to be counter-productive in the current hip hop scene. That hasn’t stopped him from packing out rooms when he goes on tour, though, with a three-date UK tour sparking chaotic scenes in London, Manchester and Birmingham last year; if nothing else, Montana is a born performer.