How did French Montana meet Max B?
French Montana and Max B were working as solo artists in their own right, but, in 2008, they joined forces for the song ‘Waavvy,’ and, the year after that, they released a mixtape together. Their musical styles suited each other, but, arguably more than that, the controversial pair were bound together by a mutual hatred for Jim Jones.
French Montana’s career in the rap game started out in the early 2000s, when he and a friend started making and distributing a DVD series called Cocaine City themselves. The show consisted of interviews with emerging rap personalities, but it also served as a vehicle for Montana to show off his own skills.
Cocaine City became a really popular street DVD series during its run between 2002 and 2010, and it helped Montana to gain recognition enough to release a mixtape called French Revolution Vol 1 in 2008. He was now a rapper in his own right.
Max B, meanwhile, had already started to make a name for himself by releasing his own music and through his association with Dipset’s Jim Jones. Relations between him and Jones, though, broke down and turned nasty around 2008, which was roughly the same time that French Montana was finding his feet as a rapper.
The two men eventually crossed paths as they were in very similar social circles, as Montana explained to VladTV in 2009. “As far as me and Max B,” he said, “he knew everybody that was around me and I knew everybody that was around him. So when we linked it was like we already damn near knew each other.”
The pair took a liking to each other, and, musically, they were a good fit. But more than that, they shared something in common: a hatred for Jim Jones.
Max B hated Jones because he believed he hadn’t appropriately compensated him for work Max had previously done on Jones’ songs. French Montana, on the other hand, hated him because he felt Jones had been taking credit for an incident that saw Montana end up getting shot. Jones, Montana believed, was using the situation to help build up his street cred.
Both Max B and French Montana had their reasons for despising Jim Jones, and, ultimately, they bonded over it. Their first mixtape together, Coke Wave, was largely defined by their beef with Jones, and it led to physical altercations between the warring sides.
Max B and French Montana continued to collaborate following the release of the first Coke Wave mixtape, even after Max was sentenced to 75 years on armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and felony murder conspiracy charges. After Max was released late last year, he and French Montana got right back to work again.