ALBUM REVIEW: French Montana – Excuse My French
★★★★☆

by JonPowell.

I admit that I expected Max B to be in the position that French Montana is now…..yet, here we are: French Montana is pretty much riding with the big dogs at the forefront of today’s Hip-Hop music scene, while Biggaveli is sitting in prison with a 75-year sentence. Now, we are on the eve of French Montana’s debut project, the slightly corny-titled Excuse My French, released as a joint deal between Diddy’s Bad Boy & Rick Ross’s MMG.

So, how is the album?

The project is literally a freight train of aggressive production, not all that far from Waka Flocka’s Flockaveli project in terms of feeling: French Montana and Co. flow seamlessly through posse cuts on the album (there are a few of them) like ‘Fuck What Happens Tonight’ (produced by Rico Love, the track features Khaled, Ace Hood, Mavado, Scarface & Snoop Dogg) and the already-well-known-so-I-shouldn’t-have-to-explain-it-to-you ‘Pop That’ (prod. Lee On The Beats). Even the smoother cuts on the album geared toward the chill crowd (read: women) have a very powerful flair (Ex. ‘Gifted’, produced by Danny Boy Styles, and ‘Drink Freely’, produced by Rico Love).

Two big questions about this project are answered:

–Can French Montana handle any songs on his own, or does he lean on collaborations?
The answer is really both: it’s no question that the features are heavy here (just look at his major singles), but I’m hear to tell you that his solo cuts hold their own just as well (Ex. the Rico Love-produced ‘Ain’t Worried Bout Nothin’ and the darker, menacing Danny Boy Styles-produced ‘When I Want);

– Is there any real influence from New York on the album, or is it just a Miami/Down South mashup?
While there are some New York influences to let you know where French is representing (the Vinylz’-produced cut ‘We Go Where Ever We Want’ — which features Raekwon — is probably the best example), the album is undoubtedly heavy into the type of sounds you’ve been hearing from We The Best and YMCMB. Anybody looking for the boom bap probably need to look elsewhere.

BOTTOM LINE: All in all, the debut album from French Montana is one that’s going to be played all through the Summer….and that’s probably the main purpose it was created for. It doesn’t try to be anything but a headbanging effort from an emcee who’s all about making money and spending it.

And I’m okay with that.

PURCHASE: iTunes/Amazon