On a sweltering afternoon, a camera flashes on French Montana at his new house in suburban Pompton Plains, N.J.
“Yo! Make sure they get my six-pack,” jokes the rapper, while holding his snarling German shepherd Zane near the edge of his turquoise swimming pool. Under a white bathrobe, Montana (real name Karim Kharbouch), 29, shows off his new smaller waist size, courtesy of P90X workouts and 20 days of Ramadan fasting.
The Moroccan-American rapper from the Bronx is getting used to new changes in his life: a new physique, new digs (he moved in earlier this year) and, most importantly for his career, new tabloid attention brought on by his just-revealed relationship with Khloe Kardashian. Not to mention the buzz building among his fans and online followers (1.8 million on Instagram, 1.9 million on Twitter) for his new album, Mac & Cheese, due out later this year on Bad Boy/Interscope, which he’s recording in his newly built home studio. As one might guess about a flashy rapper with a pet monkey named Julius Ceasor (sic), he doesn’t mind the attention.
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Mac & Cheese’s first single is “Don’t Panic,” released Aug. 12 and steeped in producer DJ Mustard’s club-ready sound. The frenzied highlight “Gucci Mane,” featuring Ross and Lil Wayne and produced by West and The MeKanics, includes the lyrics, “I’m about to lose it, man/I’m about to go Gucci Mane,” name-dropping the troubled Atlanta rapper. “That’s going to make people nervous,” predicts Fraud.
“Explicit,” a romantic, drowned-out duet with Miguel, is another standout. “The platform they got me on right now, an R&B record would do me really good with the ladies,” says French with a wide grin.
That platform is, of course, the media spotlight on his new love. Luckily, Kardashian has plenty of experience with such matters.
“She told me, ‘They will spread negative energy if they can. Don’t let it get to you,'” he says, toying around on his white piano.
Montana says that Kardashian, who makes a cameo in the “Don’t Panic” music video, also has been involved in the recording of Mac & Cheese. “She’s definitely given her feedback on the songs,” he says, noting that “Explicit” is her favorite track.
The rapper promises to reveal even more personal matters on the album. “You’ll get the skeletons, the meat,” he says.
But what about appearing on an upcoming season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians? Montana won’t say.
“I’m in a beautiful headspace,” he offers, still smiling. “Wait and see.”
This article first appeared in the Aug. 23rd issue of Billboard.