It’s been a widespread belief amongst hip-hop heads for years that all that had to happen for French Montana to become a mainstream pop star was for someone to finally put out his long-delayed official debut album. His ever-growing catalog of mixtapes had completely won over large swaths of the rap world, and T-shirts emblazoned with the logo of his Coke Boys crew are a common sight in New York, where he hails from. He’s a hard worker with a drive to succeed that’s notable even in a milieu where outsize ambition is standard issue, and he’s a highly refined pop sensibility, and he’d already won over the toughest listeners in the rap-buying demographic. With two advance singles that made it onto the Hot 100, “Freaks” and “Pop That,” it seemed like Excuse My French, which was released on May 21, was the final step in an inevitable pop crossover.
Two weeks later Excuse My French sits atop both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and the Rap Albums charts, but there’s not a single French Montana song in the Hot 100. Not even a guest appearance.