French Montana Quotes

An artist don't make you bigger than life - being that person that can break artists can make you bigger than life.

I ended up performing one time at BET. I performed my record, like, four times, and the crowd was going super crazy. And Busta just happened to be there; he pulled me to the side and asked, 'Are you signed to anybody?' So we went to the studio a few days later, spoke, and then became business partners.

I just wanted to have my own dynasty. I wanted my own Cash Money or Roc-A-Fella. Outside of that, I also wanted my own media company.

What people are feeling is the similarity in what I do and how I'm capable of breaking a new artist into a competitive field. People can't wrap their head around the fact that Gaga did not do that on her own. She didn't. There was a Laurieann Gibson.

Nowadays, with the state of the music business, for any artist, whether you're up-and-coming or you've been in it for awhile, you have to explore different revenues and different ways of expressing yourself.

Anything I do has to have integrity, so if you just want to make music, it's not difficult finding support. The hard part for a publicist or manager is making a star.

I came to California and got signed at a young age. And it's not like you see in the movies, where you start rubbing shoulders with Timbaland and Pharrell, and you become a giant pop star.

Everyone in the music industry is so fun and laid-back.

As a new artist, you come out, and there are so many other new artists. It seems like there's a whole wave of new artists that come along every year. In '05, I was part of the crop. It was a lot harder trying to set myself apart from the rest of the pack.

I remember being told 'Someone's gonna make a fortune out of this rap thing' and thinking 'no way'.

I want to work with Jay-Z.

I was 16 when I linked up with my manager - first person I ever auditioned for - and I've been in this ever since.

When Rick Ross made 'Hustlin',' Rick Ross also helped those producers become some of the biggest producers in the world.

When I first started, I wasn't really aware of anything in the industry or aware of who I really was. I just put my music out there and tried to get as many people to hear it as possible. I hadn't really thought about the kind of music I wanted to make.

The music business and I were made for each other.

I actually met The Game in my hood on Crenshaw and Slauson. I was outside on the block with 20 of my homies. I see the Range Rover, and we all walked up to his car. I handed him my CD.

I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting.

I'm cool with Dr. Dre, I have his phone number, and he picks up when I call.

I actually re-signed with Warner Bros. on my own. They've been really good to us and all the people over there are great; they love me and I love them. So I'm just sticking with them.

There's benefits of having established artists on the record, Liam Payne on 'Polaroid' for example. If you look at that song you have Lennon Stella, who's an up-and-coming artist, so there's a balance on there because I still want people to focus on the song just as much as Liam being an amazing superstar.

I didn't feel comfortable as an executive. I felt comfortable around artists and record producers... and then I found my niche: I gotta find great producers, and I produce them.

I used to DJ in Atlanta, and that's how I kind of got into the music industry.

Record labels and producers are not looking to change you: they are looking to make a star. And what they might think is a star may not be you.

I had to work a lot. I was doing YouTube videos, but I wasn't getting a lot of love. How do I make a living off rapping when no one knows me? I got kind of discouraged. But hard work shuts people up.

I founded my label last November called Icy, and once my foundation is laid, I'd love to go back and help other artists and give them the opportunity that I wasn't given at a younger age.