If there's one rapper who has had the most quietly impressive year, it's probably French Montana. Though you might not hear his name thrown around in any of the forthcoming discussions surrounding the best album of the year, the Moroccan-born emcee has enjoyed a very successful 2017 while flying mostly under the radar. On the strength of his single, "Unforgettable," his latest album Jungle Rules has vaulted French into a new category of bankability within the music industry. That song, which lives up to its title, also enlisted the services of Swae Lee and, due in no small part to its peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100, it has helped raise the profile of the Rae Sremmurd rapper as well. Yesterday, Montana got even more good news about his ongoing musical success, receiving a new plaque from the RIAA.
As per a photo that the rapper shared on his Instagram page, Jungle Rules has been officially certified Gold, after crossing the threshold of 500,000 sales plus streaming units moved since the LP's release this past summer. "Shout out to all the wavyyy fans out there," Montana wrote in the caption, showing love to all the fans who have stuck by him and, in a way, grown with him over the years. After taking home BET Hip Hop Awards for his work on "Pop That" and "All The Way Up," French Montana had positioned himself for success prior to the release of Jungle Rules, but the new RIAA plaque definitely solidifies the album as some of the best work he's done to date.
Montana is also coming off his recent collaboration with Diddy on his new flavor of CÎROC French Vanilla vodka. “When you work with someone like Diddy, it’s about more than sales or getting your name out there,” he explained. “[Diddy] looks at everything like an investment in the future of our culture and we all have to own our part in being a better example for the next generation, that means working harder and celebrating responsibly. Whether it’s the music I’m working on or developing my own flavor of CÎROC, he wants me to win as a testament to the hustle.”
