Morrocan rapper French Montana releases ‘Famous’ in his second studio album, Jungle Rules. He starts the music video with the title of the song in Arabic script, showcasing the relation of his song with his ethnic roots as Arabic is the official language of Morocco. His message in this video is a powerful one: Never forget your roots and home, stay true to who you are regardless of how much “noise” or fame you’re exposed to.
In the music video, French is walking through Morocco’s blue city, Chefchaouen, admiring its beauty and kicking a soccer ball. While he includes many Moroccan children in the video, he documents the life of one Morrocan boy who he portrays to represent himself in his childhood. Throughout the video, the Moroccan boy is going about his daily life in Chefchaouen and as he partakes in soccer or admiring the beauty of Morocco, the camera switches out to show older French partaking in the exact same activity. This consistent switch in the viewing of the child and French’s life shows that even though French has left Morocco and has achieved fame that might cause him to lose sight of his roots, he is the same Moroccan boy and will never forget his home that allowed him to become the man he is today.
/Baby live your life, just how you are/ Shining Star/ Hope you never get famous/ Flying low with the angels/ They say “fake it ‘till you make it”/ I guess you fake when you make it
French is talking about himself and his experiences in third person. The smaller you are in the industry, the less commitment you have to make to your fanbase, and therefore more of your time can be spent with your family and doing what you love. He brings up this idea of “faking it ‘till you make it,” but once you do make it, people continue to fake it. This can be due to the sense of obligation to pleasing the huge and growing fan base. However, French Montana proves he will not lose Karim Kharbouch to French Montana and instead will embody both together.
By coming back to Morocco and committing to many goodwill acts in Africa, French shows that he will never forget his home.