“You know why people sound the same nowadays?”
“It’s because they only listen to their peers.
You saw my phone, most of the songs aren’t even rap.
I feel like nobody is watching their diet.
Whatever you put in your ear and stomach is what’s going to come out of your mouth.”
One breakout favorite, the Swae Lee-featured “Unforgettable,“is a result of persistence.
The song, which has gone six-times platinum, came together after two straight days of sifting through sounds.
“Let me put it like this,” says French, about his work ethic.
“When you’re sleeping, I’m up.
When you wake up, I’m already up.
When you go back to sleep, I’m still up.
When you wake back up, Imightbe thinking about taking a nap.
I’m 10 years in the game and I’m still hungry to find that special record.”
“This house is like having my own little sanctuary,” he says.
“It has a Spanish vibe but it also feels Moroccan to me.
I’m a firm believer that some houses bring you good luck and some just throw you off.
The energy here felt right.
His Dapper Dan-designed Met Gala outfit earlier this month was similarly inspired.
Why wouldn’t I keep pushing?”
The walk to the studio, while brief, is certainly peaceful.
French has set up a wooden bench underneath where he likes to come and smoke in the evening.
Three bulging rosemary bushes dot the earth around the bench, subtly perfuming the air.
“Honestly there was no plan,” he confesses, about how the song came together.
They’re both young so it almost reminded me of how I was when I was coming up.
I saw my face in them.
They had that hunger so we knocked that s out in under 15 minutes.”
“Me and Cardi are from the same borough,” he says.
“I’m so happy to see her come out of those Bronx streets.
You have to grow thick skin.
I truly believe only special people make it out of there.”
On his forthcoming record, French his leaning further into another thing he loves: production.
I never really sat anywhere and made an album before.
I was always all over the place different studios, different cities.
It’s about to be very dangerous.”
