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Karim, better known by his stage name French Montana, was born in Morocco. French emigrated with his mother Khadeja Guled and little brother in 1996 to the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx, leaving the rest of his family behind.

Cocaine City Records:
In 2002, French Montana created the Cocaine City DVD imprint as a means to showcase his talent as an underground artist and a new voice from the New York streets. To gain a broader fan base, French incorporated interviews with major artists, as well as some up and comers. What started out as simply a medium for developing an audience quickly grew into one of the top-selling "street DVDs", having sold nearly forty thousand copies to date with national and international distribution.

The international success of the DVD series helped to propel French’s rap career to an entirely new level. By creating and producing Cocaine City, French Montana evolved from an aspiring rapper in the streets of the Bronx, to the newest musician to sign with platinum-selling recording artist Akon’s record label, Konvict Music. By early 2009, French had flooded the streets with various mixtapes, including "Live from Africa" and “Laundry Man” with Evil Empire.[citation needed] His frequent collaborations with Harlem-bred rapper Max B have also helped keep a steady buzz, and helped fuel the success of the duo’s latest project, the mixtape/DVD combo "Coke Wave." All together, there have been thirteen Cocaine City DVDs as of 2009.

Konvict Muzik:
In 2009, French Montana signed a 50/50 deal to Akon's Konvict Muzik record label. .