French Montana Says He Hasn’t Made A Dollar From His 11x Platinum Hit Unforgettable With Swae Lee

During a candid appearance on Drink Champs, French Montana opened up about the business side of his career — and dropped a bombshell about his biggest hit, Unforgettable.

Despite the song’s massive global success, Montana says he hasn’t personally seen profits from it.

“There’s no way why I shouldn’t be making money off Unforgettable. There’s no way why I shouldn’t be making money off ‘Pop That’ or my first album or second. We got so many hits… the hits speak for themselves. I haven’t made $1 off Unforgettable.”

The record, featuring Swae Lee, became a cultural phenomenon — certified 11× Platinum in the U.S., with billions of streams worldwide. Its vibrant video, filmed in Uganda and featuring the Triplets Ghetto Kids, has surpassed 1.8 billion YouTube views, while Spotify streams have crossed 1.7 billion. The song is also certified 5x Platinum in the UK for sale and streams surpassing 3.5 million.

The Cost of Early Deals

Montana explained that when artists first break into the industry, survival often outweighs long-term thinking.

“When you’re coming up as an artist, you’re not really looking at that. You’re just looking at that upfront money… because you’re trying to get your bag up.”

He described how label advances — while helpful early — can later become traps that are difficult to recoup.

“Labels, their stronger suit is dumping a bag on you that you never get to recoup… I got a chance to get messed up a couple times. But then, now it’s like, ‘forget you.’”

Still, he stopped short of blaming labels entirely.

“You can’t really be mad at the labels because you’re supposed to look at all that in the beginning.”

One moment that shaped his mindset came from a studio encounter with Wyclef Jean.

“Clef told me, ‘The best advice I can give you is stack your money up, because one day you’re going to have to go to war without these labels.’ And that always stuck in my head.”

That advice now drives Montana’s push toward independence and ownership.

When asked what he’d tell artists who want independence but still want mainstream exposure like radio play, Montana was direct:

“Just have your bag up… Now it’s only 100%. We just put our own money up. Radio — what it costs? Like $250K. You drop that, a couple billboards… that’s right.”

His point: independence isn’t just creative — it’s financial. Artists who control their funding can control their careers.

A Global Record

Released in 2017 as the lead single from Jungle Rules via Epic Records and Bad Boy Entertainment, Unforgettable also carried cultural significance for Montana.

“My diamond plaque was a big win for Morocco.”

Born in Morocco and moving to the U.S. at 13, he views the song’s global reach as bigger than music — it represents international impact, African visuals in mainstream hip-hop, and a career-defining milestone… even if the financial side didn’t unfold how he expected.