How French Montana was saved by the man who set him up to be killed
French Montana is a relatively unintimidating singer and emcee, but his career has been full of twists and turns that would surprise even his biggest fans. The star is far from a gangster rapper. Still, this basic fact shouldn’t fool people, as he has been involved in some pretty serious incidents, some of which could have even led to his demise.
Sometimes, the Bronx native has opened up about his previous life. Although he is often coy and light on detail, it is safe to say he was far from mollycoddled as a young man. In fact, if anything, it was the opposite, and the Terror Squad-affiliated musician faced just as much grief as his counterparts Remy Ma and Fat Joe.
During an appearance on the SiriusXM show Sway In The Morning, Montana once detailed a situation that saw him set up, shot in the head, and left for dead with his best luckily on hand to save his life.
Strangely, the friend who pulled him back from the brink of death was the same individual who had him set up and almost murdered. During his appearance on the radio show, Montana warned other MCs about keeping their cards close to their chest and exposing themselves to the dangers that come with an entourage of malicious hangers-on.
Highlighting the sad reality concerning his former friend, Montana told the host, Sway Calloway, “The person that set me up is the one that drove me to the hospital. Your greatest threat always comes from the inside. They put staples in my head, bitch. They been tried.”
As he dug for further details, Sway asked Montana whether he was still in touch with the individual who set him up. Unsurprisingly, the Bronx native insisted that there could be “no communication” with such a person after a situation like that.
The near-death experience Montana was forced to go through occurred while he was entering a studio on 133rd Street and Third Avenue in The Bronx. According to the creator of Mac & Cheese 5, he was approached by two gunmen as he entered the studio. In a state of panic, he fearfully defended himself, but the brawl culminated in the firing of two gunshots.
The situation was deadly and indeed led to an accidental murder as one of the perpetrators was fatally shot by his fellow gunman in a “friendly fire” incident. This was an unbelievably close shave with death, and Montana recognised the fortuitous outcome of the ambush.
Speaking with DJ Vlad for Vlad TV in 2008, Montana recalled, “I guess one of the n*ggas I was with had the drop on me, tried to set me up. When I came downstairs, n*ggas already — but I ain’t run. We had the thing on us, they had the thing on them. But they got to their thing first.”
He continued, “Son tried to hit me up, we wrestled, and in the midst of all that, I got shot in my head. The bullet went in and out. I went to Lincoln Hospital. The n*gga that shot me in the back of my head was left there.”
French was charged with murder over the incident but beat the case due to lack of evidence. Recounting the friendly fire that ultimately saved his life, Montana told the DJ, “His man that was shooting shot him by mistake. One shot me, and his man shot him trying to shoot me.”
French Montana has spoken out on a number of occasions about the scourge of gun violence and the impact it continues to have on hip-hop.