French Montana reflected on his journey as an immigrant in an interview with Page Six.
The Moroccan-born rapper recalled how his expectations for life in the United States quickly changed once he arrived in America at the age of 13. French Montana remembered the culture shock he felt once he settled in the Bronx.
“When they showed us the Empire State Building — and all the buildings downtown — I thought we were going to live there,” he told Page Six. “But when we came to the States we had to go to [the Bronx’s] Mott Haven projects.”
French Montana described his living situation as the “American nightmare.” But he learned a lot about himself as a young immigrant in the Bronx.
“I went through every level of struggle, every level of disrespect, every level of not understanding — and every step that was there I was there to take,” he explained. “Whether it was work or school, I just had to go through it.”
He continued, “I feel like the best teacher in life is failure. And I feel like when you come from the mud, and you have to learn everything from experience, I feel like there is no better teacher than that … I am one of those that learned from experiences.”
French Montana’s immigrant story is explored in the new documentary For Khadija. The film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in June.
Check out the trailer for French Montana’s documentary below.