State Champ Radio French Montana
Source: @maxb140 / Instagram
Max B and French Montana had plenty of reason to celebrate this week.
The “Coke Wave” artists slid through the town in SoHo this past Sunday for dinner at Ayah Restaurant to celebrate both French’s 41st birthday and Max coming home after spending 16 years in prison. TMZ caught the pair with French’s fiancée, Princess Sheikha Mahra of Dubai, as they walked into the upscale restaurant, where they were joined by London rapper Central Cee.
Witnesses say the dinner was a dope celebration, with laughter, hugs, and all-around good vibes. As we know, Max B was arrested in 2007 for his role in orchestrating an armed robbery gone wrong, leading to a man’s death. He was initially sentenced to 75 years, but after his conviction was overturned, he struck a deal to serve a shorter sentence after pleading to aggravated manslaughter.
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After serving more than a decade behind bars, Max B and French were ready to celebrate…but also ready to get back to work. On Monday, French posted a video of him and Max in the lab, teasing that another joint project is on the way..
“WORKING ON THE GDAY COKE WAVE 3 LOADING”
The project would mark Max B’s first in 4 years. His last album, “Negro Spirituals“, was released in 2021, while he was still incarcerated. Also on Monday, Max took to his X account to announce a 7-date club appearance tour along the East Coast.
Max also wasted no time putting a ring on his lady, Ms.B’s finger. Gotta love it.
One thing is clear: The wave is definitely back.
1. The city came out to welcome Max B home
2. Max B’s drip
3. New chain alert
4. Max B proposes to his ol lady
5. French Montana pulls up
6. The beanie God
8. Life’s good
9. Let the Wave God be great
Over the weekend, Max B finally walked free after roughly 16 years behind bars. He even made it out to the New York Jets game yesterday, waving his signature “Wavy” flag , and lo and behold…they won! The image of Max B stepping onto the stadium, flashing smiles, soaking in the street-style energy, and then watching the Jets come away with the W is almost cinematic. It felt like the beginning of his comeback. For someone whose career was paused, it’s a vivid way to mark a turning point.
Max B’s story is complicated but very compelling. Born Charly Wingate, he rose to fame from Harlem with his early mixtapes and his unmistakable melodic street voice, helping to define a new East Coast sound. He stacked up mixtapes, collaborated with French Montana (their mixtape Coke Wave is a cult classic), and coined a vice around the “wave” aesthetic. Then the legal issues came into play. He was convicted (in connection with a 2006 robbery that ended in a death) and initially got a 75-year sentence in 2009 before a plea deal and other legal shifts markedly reduced that time. Despite the setback, his music and persona never lost their pull. Instead, anticipation for his release just continued to grow.
In terms of his impact, Max B’s influence on both Hip-Hop and pop culture is real and very under-appreciated. His sing-rap hybrids, ad-libs, and “wavy” slang seeped into later waves of artists who blur the lines between melody and rap, especially in the mixtape era and beyond. Fans still point to tracks like “Picture Me Rollin’” or “Why You Do That?” as part of that early blueprint. Now that he’s out, it matters because he not only gets a second chance at life, but also at reclaiming that voice in the culture. If he drops new music, it can help reset or at least offer a refresher to a sound that helped many artists and scenes. He’s back to make his mark again.
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So when can we get new music? The expectations are high. Max B has been quoted as saying he’s ready to dive back in headfirst and not take “turtle steps” once he’s released. The mix of nostalgia (for the old wave) and anticipation (for how he’ll adapt to now) means that when he releases something, it won’t just be another drop. It’ll be a statement! Keep an eye out for a project, features, or maybe even a full comeback album. The “Wavy God” has the momentum and the story to back it.
Source: French Montana / Max B
Now that he’s home, here’s a list of artists Max B needs to collab with, because the possibilities are exciting.
FRENCH MONTANA — The two are long-time friends and collaborators (known for the Coke Wave mixtape series) and have already reunited since Max B’s release, making future collaborations a certainty.
DRAKE — Max B has expressed gratitude for the recognition Drake has given him in songs (“Money In The Grave”) and is open to working with “Champagne Papi.”
WIZ KHALIFA — Max B has a close relationship with Wiz Khalifa, who Max B says “showed straight love” during his incarceration, making a collaboration highly anticipated.
YOUNG THUG — Max B personally called out Young Thug, saying, “We gon’ make some history?” in a phone call to The Joe Budden Podcast, noting their similar melodic rap styles.
A$AP ROCKY — The Harlem ties speak for themselves.
TRAVIS SCOTT — Cactus Jack is a huge Max B fan. The wave mixed with the production of Travis Scott would feed families.
A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE — Max B specifically mentioned A Boogie as one of the younger artists he’d like to work with.
CASH COBAIN — Max B also name-dropped Cash Cobain, saying he’s received “sexy joints” from him and is looking forward to jumping on them.
JIM JONES — While they had a past beef, Max B has stated he wants to start over and that “business is business,” so a potential reunion for a track is a possibility.
RELATED: The Wave God Is Free: Max B Finally Released From Prison
French Montana / Max B
After spending nearly a decade behind bars, the Wave God, aka Max B, is finally a free man.
Harlem rapper Max B, born Charley Wingate, has finally been released from prison.
The emotional moment of him breathing in fresh air as a free man was captured by his Coke Wave collaborator and longtime friend, French Montana. It also happened to be the “Shot Caller” crafter’s birthday.
In a video post shared on Instagram, Montana wrote in the caption:
“CANT MAKE THIS UP ! MY BROTHER REALLY CAME HOME ON MY B DAY ! HAMDULILLAH 🤲🏼WALKED IT DOWN ! NO MORE FREE YOU.”
Max Biggaveli was initially sentenced in 2009 to serve 75 years behind bars for his alleged role in a deadly botched robbery attempt.
Wavy Crockett’s conviction was vacated in 2016, and he struck a plea deal that reduced his charge to aggravated manslaughter and reduced his prison sentence.
The rapper has been giving hope to fans who wanted to see the wave free again, going as far as to hint at a possible release date during a phone interview on The Joe Budden Podcast.
“We got a date! I’ve got November 9, 2025, baby!” It looks like he was speaking the truth because that’s precisely when he stepped out of Northern State Prison.
Fans have been reacting to the good news as well. You can see those reactions below.
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Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty
French Montana kept it moving real quick when asked about the heat surrounding Diddy.
The Bronx rapper, who’s been tight with Diddy for over a decade through his deal with Bad Boy, clearly wasn’t trying to get caught up in that drama. Blogger, Joe Andaloro caught up with French at LAX recently. Everything started off cool, he was all smiles, cracking jokes, talking about the Met Gala and the usual celeb stuff. But the energy flipped the second the cameraman brought up Diddy’s name and the serious allegations he’s facing. French didn’t skip a beat, just hit ’em with a “Come on, man” and walked off without looking back.
It was one of those moments where you could tell he wasn’t tryna be part of that convo at all. Right after, his security stepped in and told the camera guy, “Don’t put that last part.” But it was too late, it was all going down on livestream, so whatever happened was already out there for the world to see.
French’s quick exit didn’t go unnoticed. With Diddy under major scrutiny right now, folks are paying attention to who’s speaking up and who’s staying quiet. French clearly chose the “no comment” route, but in the internet age, silence can be loud too. Whether it’s loyalty or just not wanting to get mixed up in legal mess, French made his stance clear, he’s not talking, and he’s not sticking around for the questions.
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Source: WWD / Getty / French Montana
Hip-Hop continues to have a significant Trump problem. French Montana is catching flack for jumping on Lara Trump’s new song and has some headscratching “bars” on it.
French Montana doesn’t care where and how he gets his money. The rapper decided not to read the room and hopped on Lara Trump, the wife of Felon 47 aka Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump’s new song “No Days Off.”
Trump, who is basically a DEI hire in any job she gets, was the former head of the Republican National Committee, where she helped mold it in her father-in-law’s image, is now a Fox News host while also moonlighting as a pop singer.
On the god awful song, Lara Trump sings about her so-called image and career, bellowing on the songs first line, “”I’m a little hard to read/ You only know what they show you when you turn on the TV/ So think of this as a reboot,” before adding “work, work, work” and “can’t stop, won’t stop.”
The Coke Boys crafter didn’t help elevate the track either, stupidly rapping, “working like a slave, living like a king,” adding, “Me and Lara at your front porch, knock knock.”
French Montana and Lara Trump showing up on your front door is definitely something nobody wants, just like this song, that we will not be sharing.
The Song Is Getting Trashed
As expected, social media has been clowning both artists, specifically French Montana, for even doing the song.
https://x.com/BeanzGotGamez/status/1893066540527816903
“The new Lara Trump & French Montana song is a disgusting display of how someone with only a tiny amount of actual talent can slug their way up to the top of a corrupt industry. To a lesser extent you can say the same about Lara Trump, too,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Rolling Stone wrote about the song, “French Montana Can’t Save Lara Trump’s Atrocious New Single,”.
Damn.
You can see more reactions to the trash record below.
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Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
A documentary on French Montana will make its debut on Paramount Plus in November after being a festival highlight.
The life of rapper French Montana has gotten the documentary treatment, and it will be available to the world on the Paramount Plus streaming service. The French Montana Story: For Khadija, first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. The scheduled air date will be Nov. 19 in the United States and Canada and Nov. 20 in the United Kingdom and Australia. French Montana shared the news on his Instagram account Wednesday (Oct. 23).
The French Montana Story will give an inside look into the diamond record-selling rapper, also known as Karim Kharbouch. French Montana was born in Morocco but moved to the United States when he was 13 years old. His family settled in the South Bronx, but his father left the family to go back to Morocco while his mother stayed to raise him and his two brothers. The film chronicles his many trials while becoming a gritty battle rapper who rose to fame with his Cocaine City DVDs, which consisted of interviews with rappers and other street personalities to show off his own music. That was the base for the founding of the Coke Boys, highlighted by collaborations with Max B. He would go on to sign with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records, Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, and Interscope Records.
The documentary is directed by Mandon Lovett and produced by Live Nation Productions for MTV Entertainment Studios. French Montana serves as an executive producer alongside Michael Rapino and Ryan Kroft for Live Nation Productions. Diddy was also an executive producer but withdrew due to his mounting legal issues. “This is the best project I’ve ever worked on in my life,” said Montana of the film. “It’s the first blueprint of an immigrant’s music dream, proving that anything is possible and it’s not about the awards, it’s about what we learn from the losses and sacrifices.”
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Source: press handout / FYI Brand Group
If you thought that Coke Boys was a reference to the streets you thought wrong, allegedly. French Montana has finally explained the meaning of his crew’s name.
HipHopDX is reporting that the South Bronx, New York, talent was a recent guest on Fame & Flavor. To coincide with the release of Mac & Cheese 5, the duo cooked some truffle macaroni and cheese. During the visit, host Cugine got the “Pop That” MC to help with the prep each step of the way. When it came time to thicken up the sauce, Cug reached for some flour but educated French on some Italian slang.
“Now we got to put the flour. So Italians call it farina” he explained. The Staten Island native attempted to tie it back to Montana’s collective but was quickly corrected. “I know you’re the CEO of Coke Boys Entertainment. How did you get the name Coke Boys?” Cugine inquired. “Coke Boys stand for ‘Creation Of Kings Everywhere’” French responded. The food influencer continued to pry in the drug reference saying “you sure it’s not farina, farina?” French continued to remain unbothered to which Cugine jokingly added “no one’s being indicted here.”
Mac & Cheese is scheduled for a Jan. 5, 2024 release. The project features Rick Ross, Lil Durk and Drake. You can see French Montana and Cugine cut up on Fame & Flavor below.
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Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
French Montana has a history of rapping about flipping keys and moving weight on his songs and it seems like Colombian authorities might’ve heard a track or two as the Bronx rapper had a run-in with la policia while visiting the homeland of Pablo Escobar.
According to TMZ, the “Pop That” rapper had a slight problem this week when he was done taking in the sights in Colombia and attempted to leave the country on his private jet. Apparently his flight was delayed after Colombian authorities hopped on his jet and combed the premises searching for narcotics that might have been stashed on the plane. Using a drug sniffing dog to help with the effort, authorities ultimately found nothing as French would know better than to risk his lavish life of a rap star to make a few bucks on the block with that Colombian work.
TMZ reports:
French posted video of his encounter with law enforcement, and you see a handful of police officers going through the plane along with a drug-sniffing dog.
He’s keeping a cool head about it, for the most part, even petting the K-9 in front of officers. He’s also proclaiming his innocence … saying la policia got the wrong idea about him.
Yes, he named his label (and mixtape series) Cokeboys, but French declares there’s no contraband on his ride.
Despite the hard time from Colombian police, French says he’s still got love for the country … though he adds, “you don’t have to do me like this!!!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzFBw6GOQLK/?img_index=1
Did they scan his body for balloons though? That’s the real question. Imagine French Montana getting interviewed for a new episode of Locked Up Abroad? The whole Hip-Hop world would tune in for that one. Luckily it didn’t come to that though.
As to why Colombian authorities thought it was necessary to search a rap star’s plane for cocaine is anyone’s guess (they aren’t saying), but we’re sure someone in the South American country is familiar with the rapper’s music content and decided to throw a Hail Mary in hopes of catching him redhanded. Just an educated guess.
What do y’all think of French Montana’s run-in with the Colombian policia? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Source: John Nacion / Getty
A lot of people tend to forget that although he reps the Bronx, French Montana is in fact Moroccan. But luckily for the people of Morocco, he has not and after the nation suffered a devastating earthquake earlier this week, the Boogie Down rapper reached deep into his pockets to help with the humanitarian crisis they’re currently suffering through.
According to Complex, French Montana took it upon himself to set up an emergency fund to help his people overseas and donated a whopping $100,000 of his own money to get the ball rolling and help the people of Morocco with food, shelter and medicine as they are in dire straits. Partnering with Global Citizen and CARE for the initiative, French is hoping others will follow suit as a little bit of help goes a long way in helping those in need.
Complex reports:
“I want to spread some love and light to Morocco they’ve been hit with a big earthquake,” Montana said. “I’m setting up an emergency fund with Global Citizen.org/Morocco. and I will be donating myself.”
The emergency fund will assist the most vulnerable populations, including women and girls, youth, and disadvantaged groups. The money donated will also provide emergency relief, including water, food, shelter, and medical support. You can head here to donate.
This past Friday (September 8), Morocco was hit with a devastating 6.8 earthquake that left 2,901 people dead with many at least 10,000 more missing. Britain, Spain and Qatar are assisting the Moroccan military with rescue teams but with every passing day it seems like the number of dead will continue to grow as time is of the essence.
With French Montana spearheading the campaign, we can only hope that his celebrity peers lend a hand in the efforts to provide helps to the people of Morocco as it seems like they’re going to need plenty of it as they try to rebuild their home going forward.
Props to French Montana for taking on such an effort.
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French Montana stepped into the world of filmmaking at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, where he premiered his touching documentary about the unbreakable bond he shares with his single mother. To celebrate, the rapper sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to discuss the doc, titled For Khadija. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news […]
