Ten years. It has been over a decade since French Montana finally dropped his debut studio album, and looking back, the rollout felt like a fever dream. If you were outside in 2013, you couldn't escape the Bad Boy resurgence. Puffy was everywhere. Rick Ross was the untouchable king of the MMG empire. And right in the middle of this massive tug-of-war between New York's legacy and the South's dominance sat a kid from Morocco who had built an underground empire on DVDs and mixtapes. French Montana Excuse My French wasn't just an album. Honestly, it was a litmus test for whether the "Coke Boys" movement could actually translate to the Billboard charts without losing its soul.
The anticipation was heavy. He had "Pop That" burning up every club from Miami to Toronto. It was an era where a single song could carry an entire campaign. But the album itself? That’s where things get complicated. People forget that before French was a pop-adjacent superstar, he was a street rapper with a flow that felt like he was perpetually waking up from a nap. Critics hated it. The streets loved it. This tension is exactly why we need to talk about what happened when the album finally hit the shelves on May 21, 2013.
The Chaos of the Coke Boys Era
You have to understand the landscape. French Montana wasn't a new artist in 2013. He had already spent years grinding through the Mac & Cheese mixtape series and the Coke Boys tapes. He was the bridge. He connected the gritty, "pause-heavy" New York rap of the early 2000s with the emerging luxury-trap sound. When he signed that joint venture between Bad Boy and Maybach Music Group, it was like the Avengers of the industry coming together.
Imagine having Diddy and Rick Ross as your executive producers. That's a lot of cooks in the kitchen. On one hand, you get the glitz and the "Bad Boy" polish. On the other, you get the heavy, cinematic production that defined Ross’s God Forgives, I Don't era. French Montana Excuse My French was caught between these two worlds. It wanted to be a street classic, but it also desperately wanted to be a commercial juggernaut.
The guest list was absurd. Look at the credits: Max B (from prison), Drake, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Ne-Yo, Raekwon, Scarface, and Snoop Dogg. It was a flex. French has always been the ultimate curator. He’s the guy who knows everyone and can get them all in the same room. Some fans felt the features overshadowed him, but if you listen closely, French’s role was more like a director. He set the mood, provided the infectious hooks, and let the heavy hitters do the lifting.
Breaking Down the Sound of Excuse My French
"Pop That" is the obvious starting point. Sampling Luke’s "I Wanna Rock," the track was a seismic event. It brought together the four biggest rappers of that specific moment—French, Rick Ross, Drake, and Lil Wayne. It’s loud. It’s obnoxious. It’s perfect. It reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, but its cultural impact was way higher than its chart position. Even now, if that beat drops in a club, the energy shifts. It’s undeniable.
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But the album isn't all strip club anthems.
The Darker Side: "Once in a Blue Moon"
Take a track like "Once in a Blue Moon." It features Max B. For those who don't know, Max B is the spiritual architect of French Montana’s entire career. Without Max B’s "wavy" influence, there is no French Montana. This track gave the day-one fans what they wanted. It was melodic, slightly hazy, and felt like the mixtapes that made him famous. It’s a reminder that beneath the shiny Bad Boy exterior, French still had that Bronx grit.
The Radio Plays: "Ain't Worried About Nothin'"
Then you had "Ain't Worried About Nothin'." This was the solo hit he needed. It didn't rely on a Drake verse or a Wayne cameo. It was just a catchy, repetitive, hypnotic loop that became a mantra for the summer of 2013. People clowned his "Haaaan" ad-libs back then, but guess what? They’re still iconic. He turned a sound into a brand.
The production was handled by a mix of legends and then-rising stars. You had Young Chop, Rico Love, and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. The sonics were expensive. Everything about French Montana Excuse My French sounded like it cost a million dollars to make. It wasn't the lo-fi, grainy sound of his early tapes. It was high-definition trap.
Why the Critics Were Wrong (and Right)
When the album dropped, the reviews were... well, they were harsh. Pitchfork gave it a 3.5. Rolling Stone wasn't much kinder. The main complaint was that French "didn't say anything." They wanted lyricism. They wanted Jay-Z-level metaphors. But they were looking for the wrong things. French Montana was never a "lyrical miracle" rapper. He was a vibe-setter.
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He understood something that a lot of critics missed: hip-hop was moving toward atmosphere. It was about how the song felt in the car or the club, not how it looked on a lyric sheet. In hindsight, French Montana Excuse My French was ahead of its time in that regard. He was pioneering that melodic, effortless style that artists like Playboi Carti or Gunna would later refine and take to the top of the charts.
The album sold about 56,000 copies in its first week. By today's standards, that's decent. In 2013, people called it a flop. But longevity is the real metric. Most of the albums that came out that year are forgotten. People still play "Pop That." People still reference the "Coke Boy" aesthetic. The album served its purpose: it solidified French as a major player who could bridge the gap between the underground and the mainstream.
The Max B Factor
You can't talk about this album without mentioning the Silver Surfer. Max B’s presence looms large over the entire project, despite him being incarcerated at the time. French has always been incredibly loyal to Max, and Excuse My French was his way of bringing that "Wave" to the world stage. It’s a bit of a tragic element of the story. You have French living out the dream they both shared, while Max can only participate through phone recordings and old verses.
This loyalty is actually what makes French an outlier in the industry. Most people jump ship when their partner goes away. French doubled down. He used his debut album to keep Max B’s name alive in the mainstream consciousness. That earns you a lot of respect in the streets, even if the critics at the New York Times don't get it.
The Legacy of Excuse My French a Decade Later
Looking back, the album is a time capsule of the early 2010s. It was the peak of the "Big Room" hip-hop sound. It was the moment Bad Boy tried to reclaim the throne. It was the beginning of French Montana becoming a global celebrity who hangs out with the Kardashians and makes hits with Swae Lee.
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If you go back and listen to it today, some parts feel dated, but the peaks are still incredibly high. The album taught the industry that you don't need to be a technical lyricist to be a superstar. You need a brand. You need an ear for beats. You need to know how to put the right people on the right songs. French is a master of all three.
Key Tracks to Revisit:
- Gifted (feat. The Weeknd): This showed French could play in the PBR&B space that was exploding at the time.
- Trap House (feat. Birdman & Rick Ross): Pure luxury rap.
- Ballin Out (feat. Jeremih & Will.i.am): A weird, experimental moment that showed his pop ambitions.
Practical Takeaways for Hip-Hop Fans
If you're a student of the game or just someone who loves the history of the genre, there are a few things you should do to really appreciate what French Montana Excuse My French did for the culture.
- Listen to the Mixtapes First: To understand the evolution, go back and listen to Coke Boys 2 or Mac & Cheese 3. You’ll see how the raw energy was refined for the debut album.
- Watch the "Pop That" Music Video: It is the quintessential 2013 rap video. The pool party, the cameos, the excess—it captures an era that doesn't really exist anymore.
- Ignore the Score: Don't let old reviews dictate your opinion. Music criticism in 2013 was still very focused on traditional "bars." Listen to the album for the production and the sequencing.
- Follow the Career Path: See how French used this album as a springboard. He didn't stay a "street rapper." He used this foundation to become one of the most successful commercial artists of the next decade, eventually leading to "Unforgettable."
French Montana’s debut wasn't a perfect album, but it was an essential one. It proved that the Bronx still had something to say, even if it was saying it through a haze of Ciroc and expensive cigars. It was the moment the Wave finally hit the shore.
Next Steps for the Listener:
Head over to your preferred streaming platform and queue up the "Deluxe Edition" of the album. Pay close attention to the transition between "Pop That" and "Freaks." It’s a masterclass in high-energy sequencing. After that, look up the documentary For Khadija to see the actual struggle French went through to get to the point of releasing this album. It adds a whole new layer of respect to the music when you see where he started.