French Montana’s Dad Abandoned His Family After Moving Them to the U.S.

The rapper French Montana you know today is a very different person than he was when he first arrived in the U.S. around age 13.

For context, French (real name: Karim Kharbouch) was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and lived there until he immigrated to the U.S. after his father secured visas for the family, which at the time included French, his younger brother, and his mom.

His mother became pregnant with their third child sometime after they arrived in the U.S. on I-20 visas.

About two years later, after their visas expired and French’s father’s paperwork was denied, his father decided to return to Morocco, leaving his wife and kids behind with nothing, and they didn’t speak a lick of English.

His journey is truly extraordinary, so here’s a condensed look at French’s childhood, his parents, and where they are today.

French Montana was born in 1984 to father Karim Kharbouch and mother Khadija Guled. Growing up, his father sold gold and was “in and out the streets,” as French described it in his 2024 DJ Vlad interview.

Karim also worked in and out of the country and spent time in jail, even being locked up when French was born. However, French admitted he never asked why his dad was incarcerated. His mother, on the other hand, was a stay-at-home mom while his father tried to make ends meet.

But in 1996, in pursuit to live “the American dream,” French says his father obtained I-20 visas, temporary visas that allow you to live in the U.S. for a limited time, and moved the family to the U.S. where there were more opportunities than back home in Morocco.

They settled in the South Bronx, and his father tried several businesses that ultimately “went bad on him.” Things got worse after his paperwork was denied, and French says his father decided it was best to return to Morocco. At the time, his mother was pregnant with their third child.

His father reportedly suggested that French, then 16, stay behind while taking his younger brother and mother back to Morocco. But, as any mother would, she refused the offer, and his father returned to Morocco alone.

Left in the South Bronx without any resources and the ability to speak English, French says he had no choice but to take on the role of the man of the house.

But without valid documentation, he couldn’t get a job and was forced to turn to selling drugs to support his family, admitting he sold them “right in front of the post office.”

French eventually learned English through rapping, and his song “So Special” put him on the map. He has since grown into a global music phenomenon.

The rapper remains close to his mother, who had lived in the U.S. and returned to Morocco to see family, though her current whereabouts are unclear.

His father is reportedly still in Morocco, but French did reconnect with him several years after he left the family behind. French even chronicled what his life was like during this time in the documentary The French Montana Story: For Khadija.

French Montana is a Moroccan-American, born in Casablanca, Morocco, and he has proudly embraced his Arab-American heritage, per Vibe.

In 2020, he revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he also has “Ethiopian and Somali in me.” He speaks Moroccan, which he describes as broken Arabic, and French, though he says he understands French better than he can speak it since living in the U.S.