FACT-CHECKED FRENCH MONTANA NOT THE "FIRST NEW YORK RAPPER" TO GO DIAMOND"
French Montana has acquired a lot over his career, but there’s one accolade he has that many hope to achieve. Thanks to his 2017 single “Unforgettable” featuring Swae Lee, French has a diamond plaque for moving 10 million units of the song, and now he’s making a claim regarding the huge feat.
During his recent interview with Gillie Da Kid and Wallo on their Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, French boldly stated he’s the first rapper from New York to get a diamond certification. Now the Big Apple has a long list of artists who did well sales-wise, so The Bronx rapper’s comments caught the podcast hosts off guard.
“I’m the first male artist from the mecca of Hip Hop to go diamond, you know what I’m saying,” French Montana said before Gillie and Wallo were taken aback and asked him to say it again. “I’m the first male artist from the Mecca, The Bronx, and the first born African artist to ever go diamond.”
Gillie asked if JAY-Z had ever gotten a diamond certification and French said he didn’t. French didn’t specifically say whether he was talking about songs or albums that reached diamond status. Fans on social media wasted no time dragging him for his statement.
“Did French Montana just say he’s the first rapper to go diamond from the mecca of HipHop????
Did I hear that correctly LMAOO,” one person tweeted while another wrote on Instagram,
“Biggie life after certified diamond come on French U know frank white numbers u was on bad boy.”
As for albums, Brooklyn legend The Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death was certified diamond in 2018.
Technically, 2Pac was the first NYC-born rapper to go diamond with his Greatest Hits album reaching the mark in 2011.
There’s a lot to unpack with French Montana’s claim that he’s the first NYC rapper to get a diamond plaque. When it comes to singles, French is the only male to achieve the feat, while Nicki Minaj did it with “Super Bass.”
Someone else said, “Yeah thats dope and all BUT,back then you had to sell CDs and not so much streaming.A whole diff ball game before the streaming era.”
French Montana just released his new album Montega with Harry Fraud. The 14-song effort features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Quavo, Jadakiss, Benny The Butcher and more.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America database, French Montana's biggest song to date, "Unforgettable" featuring Swae Lee, is at an impressive nine times platinum, but it has yet to reach diamond status.