Talk:French Montana

Background

New youtube video named "Interview Exclusive French Montana sur HIT RADIO" show French Montana saying he was born in Casablanca , not Rabat. Please change wikipedia pages according to his own words. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marocologue (talk • contribs) 21:31, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

there is so lttle infomation about him on the internett. the media will have more focus on him in the future. because he is a very new rapper. but he have said himself that he is of moroccan origin.

Your right he does consider himself to be a Moroccan living in the United States who has Somali ancestry. Probably some French or Spanish ancestry as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.55.233.158 (talk) 08:06, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

This is probably the best source we have French Montana Reveals Nationality & Speaks On Bad Boy--I am One of Many (talk) 20:55, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-5ZM9ngv4s is a better link since you don't get inundated with the ads. Walter Görlitz (talk) 21:04, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

That's the best for him saying he was born in Morocco, but not his actual nationality. Walter Görlitz (talk) 21:07, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Well, in the video he is asked: "What is your nationality man?..." and he replies "I'm Morocco, North African". He then says that he was born in Morocco and his parents are Moroccan.--I am One of Many (talk) 22:30, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

You seem to be assuming that I didn't watch the video. WP:ASSUMECLUE. The question was asked in relation to his heritage. It's not a question as to what his nationality is currently or anything similar. It's actually a weak reference in regards to his nationality, but supports that he was born in Morocco. Walter Görlitz (talk) 22:34, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

I did assume you watched the video. I just wanted make it clear what he said in the video for other editors that stop by this page and that he was asked what his nationality is. I don't think that he gave a clear answer. He could be both Moroccan and a US citizen.--I am One of Many (talk) 22:48, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

But the question wasn't what his nationality is even though those were the actual words of the question. The thrust of the question was what his heritage was. Walter Görlitz (talk) 22:59, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

I think that was the thrust of the question, but then I was also wondering whether he was a US citizen too. We can only type out some of what we are thinking here and I had a couple of questions in mind. The video was very clear about the origins question, but not so clear about the nationality question. It was not my intention to come across as contradicting you though reading back on what I wrote, I could see how you might take it that way. Cheers, --I am One of Many (talk) 23:18, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Somali ???

The only source I can find for him being Somali is an obscure hip hop news site.

he was asked his ethnicity in the thisis50 interview and said Moroccan...

he was asked in a DJVlad interview, and said Moroccan.

he did a documentary called "Moroccan boy"

he certainly does not look very Somalian.

is there a reason this is included?

--99.231.215.49 (talk) 20:42, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm not aware of that interview. However, there are actually multiple sources that describe him as part Somali, part Moroccan (c.f. [1]). He also looks little different than the lighter-skinned Somalis and other Afro-Asiatic peoples in the Horn region (e.g. [2]); particularly when he was younger [3]. That would apply to many other North Africans as well. Middayexpress (talk) 01:28, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Nomad Radio

In a recent phone-in interview with Nomad Radio, a Somali urban radio station based in the UK, French Montana was asked about the uncertainty surrounding his background [4]. He indicated that both of his parents are Moroccan, but that he believes he may have some Somali ancestry as well. That's probably where the rumors originated and why he is often referred to as Moroccan-Somali. Middayexpress (talk) 19:19, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

How many languages does Montana speak?

There is a disagreement about (a) how many languages Montana speaks, (b) which one is his mother tongue, and (c) how many languages does it take for someone to speak in order to be characterized as multilingual. Can you lep? Thanks in advance for any input. -The Gnome (talk) 11:42, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

It's irrelevant as to whether or not French Montana is multilingual since the text no longer stated that. What it asserted was that "he also speaks several languages, including English, Arabic and French" [5]. To this end, he confirms in this interview that he indeed speaks several languages: English, Arabic and French, in that order ("I speak English and Arabic and French"). He says nothing about Arabic being his mother tongue, though. That is original research. It is not a foregone conclusion that Arabic is the mother tongue of all emigrants from Morocco since a) Arabic is not native to North Africa, but was instead introduced during the Islamization and Arabization of the region; b) French is not native to the region either and serves as a working language; and c) the region's native dialects are Berber and they too are official. The text should therefore stick to what the link actually states. Middayexpress (talk) 14:25, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

I believe we need more back up for this. We cannot rely solely on what the subject himself states. Cheers, The Gnome (talk) 19:58, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

WP:BLPSPS does not apply as the source is not published by Montana or any of his affiliates. BLPSPS says nothing about using interviews from magazines, which would clearly qualify as a reliable source in this and most cases. STATic message me! 21:18, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

Overlink

A user claims that it is a breach of WP:OVERLINK to link to the Somali page after French's partial ancestry. This is despite the fact that a) his ancestry is not linked elsewhere, and b) the overlink policy clearly states that it applies to "everyday words"/"geographical areas"/"units of measurement"/"dates". The term in question is none of the foregoing. Middayexpress (talk)

Feel free to link to a page discussing his ancestry, but not to the group of people as it's not immediately relevant. The worst part about quoting the context of the guideline is that you missed the very first point: "everyday words understood by most readers in context". Am I to somehow assume that "as being of partial Somali descent" is somehow going to be misunderstood in context?

Here's where the discussion should be taking place: Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Linking#Fobarrian people. Walter Görlitz (talk) 20:41, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, per WP:TALK, discussions pertaining to the article are most immediately relevant to the article's own talk page. And "Somali" is not an "everyday word". Many people have no idea who Somalis are. The same applies to Moroccan people, so that page should be linked to as well. "Everyday word" obviously pertains to things like car or road. Terms like that shouldn't be linked as they are obvious to everyone. Specific ethnic groups, on the other hand, are not. Middayexpress (talk) 20:47, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

You'll be TALKing to yourself since this is a general guideline we're discussing. Walter Görlitz (talk) 20:59, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Charlie Rock

In the last sentence in the intro paragraph it says: "Montana is known for his frequent collaborations with Max B, and more recently with Rick Ross along with his group Coke Boys, which consists of rappers Chinx Drugz, Cheeze and Flip." Does this not include Charlie Rock? He was included on all the Coke Boys mixtape with the other members and his picture is on the front of "Coke Boys 3" in that N.W.A. style photo with the others. Or has he been kicked out since then? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.246.80.178 (talk) 10:02, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

okay i just found out that he's fallen out since then. Somebody could've told me though instead of everybody just ignoring and deleting my input. Talk about impolite. If I was wrong I would've openly admitted it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.246.80.178 (talk) 23:49, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

Ignoring you was unintentional. What can say is hat references using reliable sources would help whenever you request a change be made or when you make them yourself. Walter Görlitz (talk) 01:10, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Coke Boys

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Montana&oldid=571163783&diff=prev

If you look at the edit history, this is simply fodder for anons to add their favourite people, unreferenced, to the lede.

As for reading: "Presumably, recent signee Lil Durk will join French, Chinx Drugz, Flip, Charlie Rock, and Cheeze on the project". Where does it say that they are part of of the Coke Boys? Nowhere. It says that they are "presumably" working on the album. It's not even a certainty. When you find a source to support that they are members of the collective, you can add it and their names back to an appropriate section of the article, but not to the lede. It gives them too much weight. And don't edit war of this, it's stupid. Walter Görlitz (talk) 02:24, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

First of all, we have a little thing called Pending Changes enabled for a reason. Secondly, Montana, Chinx Drugz, Flip, Charlie Rock, and Cheeze are members of the group Coke Boys, which is explicitly stated in the reliable source. I could also list countless sources that support those additional four members as members of the group. A clear view of the last mixtape tells you who are the members of the group, it only has their names and pictures on the cover art. Just because you do not read the article for references does not make it incorrect, and I think you should apologize for the hasty revert. If you look at Lil Durk's article it tells you/is referenced that he is signed to Montana's Coke Boys Records, that is why AllHipHop says he will presumably be apart of the project, since they are unsure if it is just a group album, or a label compilation. And about undue weight, we are just naming the members of the group, not having a whole biography on them in the lead, crying undue weight just shows you are grabbing at straws at this point. STATic message me! 02:55, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Pending changes are great, but it doesn't reduce the necessity for monitoring the changes.

Secondly, the source doesn't really stated that they're members of the Coke Boys, but one can infer that they are from the source. Countless sources are not necessary, only one good one. Walter Görlitz (talk) 05:08, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

And two have already been provided. Not to mention there is this and this. Not the best third party sources, but both official sources from Montana calling them all members. STATic message me! 07:53, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

I only se the one in the article. Feel free to create a section in the article about it and remove the names from the lede. Walter Görlitz (talk) 16:01, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Picture

i wanna add a picture on french montana's wiki page lols MC Nabz (talk) 19:39, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

 Not done You will first need to upload the image first, then, come back and let us know where the image is and we can help from there. Walter Görlitz (talk) 21:01, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Outstanding Assassination Attempt/Murder Trial Question

In coming across this article, I found it severely, severely lacking in a crucial bit of information - it makes mention of an assassination attempt. Great. Then it wildly veers off and says he faced a murder trial for which he was found not guilty. Problem? One second the dude's being shot in the head walking out of a studio, the next he's the one on trial for murder? And apparently receives some settlement to boot? Either it is intentionally obscuring info by not giving the full details on the 'assassination attempt' to include French's involvement in a dispute which would cause him to be targeted and tried for murder subsequently, or else it is simply 100% incorrect and the murder trial where someone was found not guilty was for whoever made an attempt on French's life. Either way, anyone familiar with this fellow and the details would greatly improve both the accuracy and quality of his article by clarifying this outstanding bit of obscurity. Coladar (talk) 23:19, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Another editor and I have come to what appears to be an accurate representation of the information. We removed material that wasn't sourced to the "interview" and then moved the whole section. Walter Görlitz (talk) 01:34, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

Yeah it looks good now, thanks Coladar for bringing that to our attention, I always assumed it was sourced, but I guess someone sneaked that content in there. I am still dubious of the printed "interview" in general, the source is still a forum that has quite a history of being unreliable. STATic message me! 02:39, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

Overplaying Linguistic Abilities?

I am almost fluent in French and having watched this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bq_puTyZ9M of him "speaking French" I am willing to bet he speaks no more than basic French phrases at the most. I understand the Wikipedia policies on youtube as 'sources' but the linguistic ability credited to him is overestimated (particular to French). Being born in Morocco, he obviously can speak Arabic. Him leaving at such a young age for the States, he probably did not spend enough time there to learn French like many of the Moroccan children do. I propose that the first sentence of the "Personal Life" section be removed or written as "Moroccan-born rapper French Montana can speak English as well as his native Arabic." "Several languages" is far too vague. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Olliewasabi (talk • contribs) 16:07, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

You're right, he talks a very bad French, he can says few words, but that's all. That's the same thing that saying "I wanting pizzas". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:E35:8A8D:FE80:6D7B:84AC:4F52:8A02 (talk) 02:39, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

consumed with playing football (or soccer? or association football?)

This article is about an American rapper, but, growing up in Morocco, he probably loved soccer. This should be clarified. 173.62.197.75 (talk) 17:02, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

i agree as he says in the source 'I didn't do anything else really, I was just playing soccer and rapping.'

on another note he has said in a few interviews his divorce was finalized this year which should be added [6][7] 80.1.219.140 (talk) 21:49, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

 Done Naue7 (talk) 04:31, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 November 2014

At the end of the "Personal Life" section, in the discussion about a recent relationship, the word "continuously" should be replaced by "continually" because this is the correct word in this context. 2602:306:35F8:BC0:6886:BF37:9C15:DDBD (talk) 14:22, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Partly done: removed continuously. also just truncated the sentence Cannolis (talk) 14:49, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Fader Article, and Multilingualism

I'll attempt to find it again (it's been several months, mind you), but I've previously read a response to the Fader article that was essentially a face-checking assessment of said article, and they obtained some quotes via telephone from his brother... What Karim said in the article, according to Zack, was almost wholly hot air. He disputed two of the things we actually cite here: that he "learned English on the streets", for one. Apparently, he had to attend the second school in order to obtain resources to help him in learning English that weren't available in the previous school, namely, an instructor who spoke Arabic. So he most definitely didn't learn it "on the streets", as he didn't have the linguistic ability to meet anyone on the street at that point. And secondly, that he financially supported his family. His brother said that their mother worked extremely hard as their sole provider; Karim was a teenager that only ever had two minimum-wage jobs, and while he did throw a bit into the family coffer, he didn't keep either job long, and the amount he contributed was negligible. Point being, we probably shouldn't use this article as a source - there's no official policy regarding it, but it's a bit "iffy" to use self-reported information found only in a singular non-journalistic magazine source, that isn't verifiable. At the very least, that seems to hold true in this case.

Lastly, as per OllieWasabi, and my own fluency in French... He most definitely does not speak conversational, let alone fluent French. I suppose that this is pretty much an issue of subjectivity, but I'm not sure whether I'd consider French ability on par with a first year high school student to be "speaking" it, at least as it's presented here (which seems to be suggesting fluency). Yeah, truly. I kid you not... That's about the level he "speaks" it. I'll wait for consensus on that, and the Fader issue, before making any bold edits, though. I like the guy, and his music. I'd personally prefer to take his word at face value. But with a BLP article, we do need to be careful about reporting erroneous information. Just because someone makes a claim, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Of course, we can always do some creative paraphrasing and use qualifiers such as "he claims".

As I said, I'll search for the article that contains his brother's rebuttals. But regardless, it's probably a safe idea to just not use the source at all, as it's hardly on the list of those considered "reliable" (as a general rule, most pop culture magazines don't qualify). To anyone else who's a fan though, you might get a kick out of this: in the same article, his brother confirms the suspicion some had when he first came on the scene... That his emcee name is in fact taken from the "French Montana" sandwich formerly sold at Arby's, which was being advertised when he first emigrated here. He liked the way it sounded. Personally, I found that both a bit charming and kinda hilarious. :) - Kaelus — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.185.154.10 (talk) 06:07, 16 December 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 December 2015

Hello, can you please change French's picture because it's and old one.Thank youuu Aymanlaamarti (talk) 12:23, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Not done for now: Do you have access to a more current one that meets Wikipedia:Image use policy? Cannolis (talk) 12:42, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Religion?

He is in the category of American Muslims, but no reference to Islam/Muslim or any related terms are mentioned. 92.4.96.96 (talk) 21:37, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

I have decided to remove it since there is no evidence of this. Spiderone 15:00, 28 August 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 May 2017

French Montana was born in Casablanca Morocco; and not Rabat, Morocco. Sbarehmi (talk) 01:45, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. —MRD2014 📞 contribs 02:21, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 July 2017

Last night on the Daily Show, Trevor Noah discussed French Montana's Launching of the Global Healthcare Initiative and Donates $100K to Mama Hope Organization in Uganda. He subsequently has had many others do the same. The median age in Uganda is 15 years old. 2602:306:CE35:420:9487:2447:5895:F84E (talk) 03:58, 26 July 2017 (UTC)<The Daily Show>

Not done: In my eyes, The Daily Show is considered to be a parody of news, and is considered a "fake news" source. It is not to be used as a reliable source. jd22292 (Jalen D. Folf) (talk) 05:43, 26 July 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 September 2017

For lyrics of French Montana visit : http://www.lyricsremark.com/artist/french-montana/ PrinceDev (talk) 11:23, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. —KuyaBriBri^Talk 13:54, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

Pronunc. of Arabic name

Arabic: كريم خربوش‎ Karīm Kharbūš [kæɾiːm χɑʁbuːʃ] => shouldn't it be [kæɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ] ? Wathiik (talk) 09:35, 18 August 2019 (UTC)

I just saw that. I'll correct it right now. Thepharoah17 (talk) 08:17, 29 November 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 August 2020

I request just to change up some of the associated acts of french montana Fellaboyz (talk) 01:41, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ◢  Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 14:59, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Religion

No mention that he is Muslim? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:1C0:6A01:64B0:11D8:4466:2A12:ADFD (talk) 09:37, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 January 2024

2600:6C42:5540:97E:1CC:942D:1575:E113 (talk) 18:20, 13 January 2024 (UTC) French Montana is 4 ft 11

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. EphemeralPerpetuals (they/them)^talk 18:48, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

WP:NPOV and WP:BLP

Part of this page has serious WP:NPOV and WP:BLP concerns, will work to bring it to date and reduce. Earnsthearthrob (talk) 19:06, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

reduced and folded into timeline, remove unsourced and youtube video sourced for WP:NPOV and WP:BLP article Earnsthearthrob (talk) 21:00, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

Make his sexual battery allegations more clear.

Hi, I think it is imperative to make his sexual abuse allegations more clear. A lot of biographies put it under a separate heading of controversies and I believe this was the case for this also, but now it is in the main body of his career. I think this is important because for one it does not fit under his career, but additionally, it is important to highlight controversies, legal issues etc clearly about individuals for others seeking to learn more about this person. 2A00:23C6:548F:FD01:128:7140:7ACA:F57E (talk) 14:40, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

Nationality

LosCaliforian, why did you remove "Morrocan-Amercian" and instead, kept "American"? Mr.Shadow514 (talk) 22:21, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 October 2024

196.89.142.227 (talk) 19:52, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

He's born in Algeria and he's half Algerian half Tunisian and he grow up in Morocco

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Cannolis (talk) 20:27, 15 October 2024 (UTC)