Excuse My French
With just a glance, it’s evident that French Montana’s ascent came through a set of mixtapes set ablaze with high-caliber collaborations. The heavy-hitting cameos on his 19-track debut, *Excuse My French*, reads like a contemporary hip-hop impresario’s speed dial. Just how heavy? Listen for Diddy, Rick Ross, Drake, The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Lion, Lil Wayne, and 2 Chainz—to name a few. But despite all these famous voices, the most exciting one might belong to French Montana himself; he alternates between quick-witted wordplay and sing-song verses that proudly confess his vices. This Editors’ Choice is packed with flashes of brilliance, but it’s hard to top the slow grind of “Paranoid” (feat. C.A.S.H.), or the full-on raunch Nicki Minaj brings to “Freaks.”
French Montana gives you all the raw material of a 2013 rap icon: fluent in regional microtrends, "New York" enough to keep local tastemakers satisfied, all while carrying an air of self-aware absurdity. However, Excuse My French does absolutely nothing to make French Montana look interesting.
French Montana is a poor man’s rap star, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting rich. He shares Future’s knack for sing-songy choruses, lending memorable hooks to hits by Rick Ross (“Stay Schemin’”), P.A.P.I. (“Tadow”), and Chinx Drugs (“I’m A Coke Boy”), yet he isn’t half as innovative or imposing as the Auto-Tuned…
Having launched his Cocaine City cartel and then aligned it with Rick Ross' Maybach Music empire, Bronx rapper and hip-hop entrepreneur French Montana keeps building the co-branding with his official debut, which lands on Bad Boy with Interscope distribution.
French Montana is a product of the times; he lacks substance, integrity and talent, but looks good in a photo.