The best rapper from all 50 states

Montana

Artist – French Montana

Years Active – 2007-Present

Notable Track – “Pop That”

Sample Rhyme:

“What you twerkin’ with?”

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Here are some pertinent facts about the state of Montana:

-Montana is the fourth biggest state in the United States in terms of area

-Montana has the 44th largest population in the U.S.

-Montana ranks 48th in population density among U.S. states

-Montana doesn’t have any rappers

Three of those four facts are easy to come by, census data type stuff. One of them is a less concrete fact, but rather one that we can only assume after spending almost an hour Googling for an answer. Guess which is which!

In any case, we’re going to have to cheat really hard here. Elsewhere on this list we’ve taken rappers known to have come up in a particularly state or city and cast them instead in the state they were born in. Here, we’re going to be forced to make the most specious of connections in order to get this slide filled out.

French Montana is not from Montana. He wasn’t even born in the United States. He hails from Morocco.

Even his stage name isn’t an allusion to the state, but rather an attempt to link himself with Scarface anti-hero Tony Montana.

For all his lack of actual Montana-ness, French Montana is still a notable member of the circa-2016 rap pantheon. He’s a master collaborator with connections across rap’s geographical reach.

That he’s accomplished all this despite the fact that he and his family didn’t move to the U.S. until he was 14 years old makes French Montana’s story in the rap scene resemble the American Dream. Anyone can come to these shores and get the chance to party with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Drake deserves a place on this list. Even if we had to cheat to get him here.

Next: Nebraska