Hip-hop artist Karim Kharbouch—born on November 9, 1984, in Rabat, Morocco—is
better known by his stage name French Montana. Growing up in New York, he
started out as a battle rapper and sold a series of DVDs on the streets under
the umbrella title of Cocaine City until 2003 when he suffered a gunshot wound
that required lengthy treatment. Collaborating with various artists, he released
several mixtapes before issuing the album Coke Boys 2. He followed the release
of that album with Excuse My French, which went to Number 1 on Billboard's Top
Rap Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ...