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Excuse My French (album)

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Untitled

Excuse My French is the debut studio album by American rapper French Montana. The album was released on May 21, 2013, through Coke Boys, Bad Boy Records, Maybach Music Group, and distributed by Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Max B, Ace Hood, Snoop Dogg, Scarface, The Weeknd, Diddy, Drake, Rick Ross, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Ne-Yo, Raekwon, 2 Chainz, and Machine Gun Kelly among others. Production was handled by Reefa, Mike WiLL Made It, Rico Love, Lex Luger, Cardiak, and Young Chop among others. As of June 16, 2013 the album has sold 94,000 copies in the United States.

Background

French Montana revealed in a September 2012 interview with RapFix Live that he has worked with fellow recording artists Diddy, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Drake, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Wale, Scarface, Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., and Max B on the album. Montana also stated that he had a song with R&B singer The Weeknd, entitled "Gifted". In addition, on January 26, 2013, he revealed in an interview with Rap-Up TV that he had also worked with Kanye West on the album. The album cover was released on January 29, 2013.

In another January 2013 interview with Rap-Up he announced he had a song with Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg on the album and that producers on the album would include Young Chop, Harry Fraud and Rico Love. Also saying that the album would be the "album of the decade". The final tracklist would also reveal features from DJ Khaled, Mavado, Ace Hood, Jeremih, Raekwon, Fabolous, Trey Songz, Machine Gun Kelly, Red Cafe, Chinx Drugz, Young Cash and Los. Max B performs the album's intro in a phone-in from jail. During the promotional run for the album French told Hot 97 that the only artist he paid to make an appearance on his album was Max B.

Release and promotion

The album was originally set for a July 17, 2012 release before being pushed back to Fall 2012. On December 20, 2012, Montana revealed that the release date would be March 12, 2013. However, it was later postponed again to April 16, 2013, and once more until May 21, 2013.

On November 19, 2012, Montana released a new mixtape, entitled Mac & Cheese 3. The mixtape included appearances from Diddy, MGK, Fat Joe, Wale, Mac Miller, Curren$y, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Trina, Prodigy, Tyga, and Ace Hood. In addition, the tape features production from Young Chop and Rico Love, among others. As of January 26, the mixtape has been downloaded more than 1 million times on mixtape hosting site DatPiff.

From February 26 to March 26, 2013, Montana embarked on the Excuse My French tour ahead of the album's official issuance. He later released 30 second snippets for every song on the record on May 12, 2013.

Singles

The first official single released from Excuse My French was "Pop That", which featured Rick Ross, Drake, and Lil Wayne, with production from Lee On The Beats. The song was released on June 15, 2012, and peaked at 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

On January 26, 2013, Montana announced that the next single would be released within the next week and is a remake of the song "Freaks", which originally appeared on the debut album of rapper Lil Vicious, Destination Brooklyn. "Freaks" featuring Nicki Minaj was premiered on Hot 97 on February 13, 2013 and released to iTunes the next day. On February 18, 2013, the music video was filmed for "Freaks". On March 7, 2013. the music video for "Freaks" featuring Nicki Minaj was released. On March 12, 2013, the single was released to Rhythm Crossover radio.

The first promotional single released off the album was titled "Marble Floors" featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz was released on December 4, 2012. The song "Ain't Worried About Nothin'" would be released as the second promotional single, for digital download on April 15, 2013. It is his first career solo single. A music video was filmed in late April and released on May 7, 2013. On June 19, 2013, the music video was released for "I Told Em".

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 56,000 copies in the United States. In its second week the album sold 18,000 more copies. In its third week the album sold 11,000 more copies. In its fourth week of release the album sold 8,400 more copies bringing its total sales to 94,000.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
The A.V. ClubD
Boston GlobeMixed
DJBooth
HipHopDX
Huffington PostPositive
Pitchfork Media3.5/10
Rolling Stone
Spin5/10
XXL (L)

Upon its release Excuse My French was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 53, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album three stars out of five saying, "The rest of the album suffers from redundancy and some wasted opportunities with the guests, but Montana is a flossy tycoon first and a wordsmith second at this point, so his handing in a high-power mixtape instead of a focused debut is to be expected, and with a little bottle service, enjoyed." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "The beats on his major-label debut range from bleak to triumphal to jackhammer-manic; none of it seems to make a difference to French, who spills syllables in the same rich slurry nearly every time. He’s a man of few words – many of his hooks consist of a single staccato phrase, looped until it verges on nonsense. When these mantras connect, they’re indelible. When they don’t, it’s like being smacked in the face repeatedly with an iced-out chain."

Dan Buyanovsky of XXL gave the album an L, saying "For every artistic, deep-thinking rhymer in hip-hop, you need someone like French Montana, who can balance out the ratchet equilibrium of the genre, so taken at face value—as a fun record filled with turn-up anthems—Excuse My French is a good album, possibly the best one the Coke Boy could make. There’s enough big boasts and big beats here to carry French’s charm, which is really all you could ask for with a debut LP from the Bad Boy." Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 3.5 out of 10, saying "This is the point in the review where you might expect me to say “this is everything wrong with hip-hop in 2013,” but that might’ve been the case if Excuse My French had sold a ton of copies and could be taken as a mandate for more of the same. Instead, forcing French Montana into that #1 spot and having it come off like a transplant rejection actually lets us know the genre’s in fine health." Joven Haye of DJBooth gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Ultimately, Excuse My French was very predictable. If you were looking for music to ride around to this summer, then it is the perfect album. On the flip side, if you somewhat bought into French’s “10 year” comment, I can’t believe you won’t leave disappointed. There just isn’t much more to the album aside from the fun energetic singles we have already heard, but nevertheless, EMF was an ok-to-good debut for a Bronx native we can except to see in the game for years to come."

Bruce Smith of HipHopDX gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "Excuse My French comes off as extremely formulaic. The use of recognizable samples, the go-to features of the day (Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, two Lil Wayne features, three Rick Ross features), the attempts to cover all markets and demographics, give the album a forced feel. While some of the records either have, or will make their run in the clubs—strip clubs specifically—listening to Excuse My French in its entirety is an extremely strenuous task at best. While excessive tales of flossing, the streets, and misogyny are nothing new to Hip Hop, the complete lack of creativity those subjects are executed with on this project, whether it be lyrically or instrumentally, make it a hard listen." David Turner of Spin gave the album a five out of ten, saying "The end result is that French disappears on his own album. His biggest single to date, "Pop That," was dominated by Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne; his other radio hit, "Freaks," needed Nicki Minaj to generate spins. Even the beats on those singles — an Uncle Luke sample on the former, and a rework of Lil Vicious' "Freaks" on the latter — feel more prominent than the main guy rapping over them. French has a great, unique adlib ("Haaan"), an identifiable voice, and a face recognizable in a silhouette. But on Excuse My French, he's outshone and undervalued."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Once in a While" (featuring Max B)Karim Kharbouch, Sharif Slater, Fenrick Gibbs, Skip Prokop, Kanye West, Dwayne Carter, Dominick Lamb, Norman Landsberg, Felix Pappalardi, John Ellis Ventura, Leslie Weinstein, Charly WingateReefa, Rick Steel (co.)4:11
2."Trap House" (featuring Birdman & Rick Ross)Kharbouch, Bryan Williams, William Roberts, Jahlil TuckerJahlil Beats4:24
3."Ain't Worried About Nothin'"Kharbouch, Richard Preston Butler Jr., Earl Hood, Eric Goudy IIIRico Love, Earl & E3:32
4."Paranoid" (featuring Young Cash)Kharbouch, Nayvadius Wilburn, Tyree PittmanYoung Chop4:27
5."When I Want"Kharbouch, Danny SchofieldDanny Boy Styles3:38
6."Fuck What Happens Tonight" (featuring DJ Khaled, Mavado, Ace Hood, Snoop Dogg & Scarface)Kharbouch, Khaled Bin Abdul Khaled, David Constantine Brooks, Brad Jordan, Antoine McColister, Calvin Broadus, Anthony Tucker, Joseph B. Jefferson, Charles B. SimmonsThe Beat Bully5:27
7."Gifted" (featuring The Weeknd)Kharbouch, Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Amir Esmailian, SchofieldDanny Boy Styles4:08
8."Ballin' Out" (featuring Jeremih & Diddy)Kharbouch, Jeremih P. Felton, Carlos Coleman, Carl McCormickCardiak4:25
9."I Told Em"Kharbouch, Jeffery Oliver RobinsonJ Oliver4:22
10."Pop That" (featuring Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne)Kharbouch, Roberts, Aubrey Graham, Carter, Anthony L. Norris, Luther CampbellLee On The Beats5:03
11."Freaks" (featuring Nicki Minaj)Kharbouch, Onika Tanya Maraj, Butler, Hood, Goudy, Douglas L. Davis, Quame Riley, Everton Bonner, Sly Dunbar, John Christopher Taylor, Lloyd Oliver WillisRico Love, Earl & E3:02
12."We Go Where Ever We Want" (featuring Ne-Yo & Raekwon)Kharbouch, Shaffer Chimere Smith, Corey Woods, Anderson Hernandez, Allen Ritter, Robert DiggsVinylz, Allen Ritter (co.), Reefa (add.)4:17
13."Bust It Open"Kharbouch, Austin Woolridge, Brandon Huggins, Campbell, Harry Wayne Casey, Rick FinchThe Arsenals3:27
Total length:55:05
Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Drink Freely" (featuring Rico Love)Kharbouch, Butler, Pierre MedorRico Love4:08
15."Throw It in the Bag" (featuring Chinx Drugz)Kharbouch, Lionel Pickens, Kevin Randolph, Mathangi Apulpragasm, Dave Taylor, Christopher William MercerBos5:05
16."Marble Floors" (featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)Kharbouch, Roberts, Carter, Tauheed Epps, Michael WilliamsMike Will Made It3:50
17."Ocho Cinco" (featuring Diddy, Machine Gun Kelly, Los & Red Café)Kharbouch, Sean Combs, Jermaine Denny, Richard Colson Baker, Carlos Coleman, Pittman, Rob HolladayYoung Chop, Rob Holladay (add.)4:06
Deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."40" (featuring Trey Songz & Fabolous)Kharbouch, Tremaine Aldon Neverson, John David Jackson, Lexus Arnel LewisLex Luger4:12
iTunes Deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."If I Die"Kharbouch, Butler, MedorRico Love2:49
Best Buy deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
18."Hey My Guy" (featuring Max B)  
19."Ghetto Prayer" (featuring Mavado)Harry Fraud 
Sample credits
  • "Once in a While" contains a sample of "Barry Bonds" by Kanye West and Lil Wayne.
  • "Fuck What Happens Tonight" contains samples of "I Got Over Love" by Major Harris.
  • "Pop That" contains element and a recording sample of "I Wanna Rock-Doo Doo Brown" by Uncle Luke.
  • "Freaks" contains samples from "Freaks" by Lil Vicious and "Murder She Wrote".
  • "We Go Wherever We Want" contains interpolations of "Ice Cream" written by RZA.
  • "Bust It Open" contains a sample of "I Wanna Rock" by Uncle Luke.
  • "Throw it in the Bag" contains a sample of "Steppin Up" by M.I.A..

Release history

Regions Dates Label(s)
Worldwide May 21, 2013 Coke Boys, Bad Boy Records, Maybach Music Group, Interscope Records

References

  1. 00:00. "French Montana's "Excuse My French" Pushed Back Again". Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved 2013-05-21. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  2. "French Montana's Next Single Will Have No Guests". Complex. 2013-04-05. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  3. Markman, Rob (20 September 2012). "French Montana Snags The Weeknd For Bad Boy Debut". MTV. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  4. ^ Miles, Dante (26 January 2013). "French Montana Delays "Excuse My French," Talks Nicki Minaj Duet On New Single". HipHop. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  5. Horowitz, Steven J. (2013-01-29). "French Montana "Excuse My French" Cover Art". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  6. Vasquez, Andres (2013-02-01). "French Montana Calls "Excuse My French" The "Album Of The Decade"". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  7. "French Montana Excuse My French Tracklist". Rap Radar. 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  8. "Six Takeaways From French Montana's 'Excuse My French' Listening Party - Page 2 of 7 - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  9. Jake Crates (2013-05-09). "French Montana and Uncle Luke Exchange Words via Hot 97 Interviews". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  10. Donaldson, Erich (20 December 2012). "French Montana Reveals "Excuse My French" Release Date". Complex. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  11. Cooper, Roman (2013-02-08). "French Montana Delays "Excuse My French"". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  12. Horowitz, Steven (20 November 2012). "French Montana "Mac & Cheese 3" Mixtape Download & Stream". HipHopDX. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  13. "French Montana - "Mac & Cheese 3"". DatPiff. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  14. Horowitz, Steven J. (2013-02-01). "French Montana Announces "Excuse My French" Tour". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  15. "Listen To Snippets From French Montana's Bad Boy Debut, 'Excuse My French' - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  16. "French Montana - "Pop That"". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  17. "French Montana Predicts "Freaks" Featuring Nicki Minaj Will Reach No. 1 On Billboard Charts, Announces New Release Date For 'Excuse My French' [Video]". XXL. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  18. "On The Set: French Montana x Nicki Minaj "Freaks"". Rap Radar. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  19. "French Montana f. Nicki Minaj - "Freaks"". HipHop DX. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  20. "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  21. "iTunes - Music - Marble Floors (feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz) - Single by French Montana". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  22. "TV: French Montana Talks Scarface, Ne-Yo Collaborations on 'Excuse My French'". Vibe. 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  23. "New Music: French Montana "Ain't Worried About Nothin"". MissInfo.tv. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  24. "Video: French Montana "Ain't Worried About Nothin"". Complex. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  25. http://www.complex.com/music/2013/06/video-french-montana-i-told-em
  26. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/26/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 29, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/2/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 5, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/9/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 12, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.24375/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-16-2013
  30. ^ Jeffries, David. "Excuse My French - French Montana : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  31. by Chris DeVille May 21, 2013. "French Montana: Excuse My French". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-05-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. "ALBUM REVIEW: French Montana, 'Excuse My French' - Music". The Boston Globe. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  33. ^ "French Montana - Excuse My French". Djbooth.net. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  34. ^ Smith, Bruce. "French Montana - Excuse My French". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  35. "French Montana Excuse My French': Debuts With Enjoyable Album (REVIEW)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  36. ^ "French Montana: Excuse My French". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  37. ^ By Simon Vozick-Levinson. "French Montana, 'Excuse My French' | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  38. ^ Turner, David. "French Montana, 'Excuse My French' (Maybach Music/Bad Boy/Interscope)". SPIN. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  39. ^ "Album Review: French Montana, Excuse My French - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  40. "Excuse My French Reviews". Metacritic. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  41. "French Montana – Excuse My French (Production Credits & Booklet)". HipHop-N-More. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  42. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Excuse+My+French+%5BBest+Buy+Exclusive%5D+%5BPA%5D+-+CD/8927054.p;jsessionid=81D2778FDD54C5BAD9C493D58FA7D503.bbolsp-app01-135?id=2705027&skuId=8927054&st=french%20montana%20excuse%20my%20ffrench&lp=1&cp=1
French Montana
Discography
Studio albums
Collaborative albums
Mixtapes
Singles
Featured singles
Other songs
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