Jungle Rules

Jungle Rules is the second studio album by Moroccan-American rapper French Montana. It was released on July 14, 2017 by Coke Boys, Bad Boy and Epic Records.[4] The album succeeds his mixtape MC4 (2016), which was originally intended to be his second studio album. It features guest appearances from Future, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Young Thug, Pharrell Williams, Quavo, T.I., Swae Lee, Marc E. Bassy, Chinx and Max B, among others. Production derives from frequent collaborator Harry Fraud, as well as Scott Storch, Detail, London on da Track, Mike Will Made It and others. The album was supported by the singles "No Pressure" featuring Future and "Unforgettable" featuring Swae Lee.

Jungle Rules
Studio album by French Montana
Released	July 14, 2017
Recorded	2016–2017
Genre	Hip hop[1] trap[1]
Length	64:19
Label	Coke Boys Bad Boy Epic
Producer	Puff Daddy (exec.) French Montana (exec.) Rick Steel (also exec.) Fenrick Gibss (also exec.) Alex Lustig Alkaline A1 Beat Billionaire Ben Billions C.P Dubb Cubeatz DaHeala DannyBoyStyles Detail DtownThaGreat Frank Dukes Harry Fraud ISM J-Holt Jaegen London on da Track Mike Will Made It Masar Murda Beatz NGHTxNGHT Nic Nac Nova Scott Storch Shaun Lopez Ziggyonthekeyboard 1Mind 2Epik
French Montana chronology
MC4 (2016) Jungle Rules (2017) Coke Wave 4 (2019)
Singles from Jungle Rules
"Unforgettable" Released: April 7, 2017 "No Pressure" Released: April 7, 2017 "A Lie" Released: August 15, 2017[2] "Famous" Released: November 28, 2017[3]

Jungle Rules received generally positive reviews from critics. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 52,000 copies in its first week. In October 2017, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

The title Jungle Rules was originally announced on August 25, 2015, in the midst of Chris Brown's "One Hell of a Nite" tour which ran between August and September which the rapper co-headlined.[5][6] The title was shelved, however, when in October the mixtape was released under the name Coke Zoo.[7][8] On June 12, 2017, Billboard attended a documentary screening and listening party hosted by French Montana in New York City.[9] The event featured previews of tracks expected on the upcoming sophomore album.[9] In a subsequent radio interview with Angie Martinez, he confirmed having completed recording three upcoming projects, including one being a collaboration, and the other his next album.[10] The title Jungle Rules was revived following his performance at the 2017 BET Awards, where the name and release date was revealed for July 14.[4] The track listing was revealed on July 5, 2017.[11]

Singles

The joint lead singles "No Pressure" and "Unforgettable" were released on April 7, 2017 for streaming and digital download. The latter peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest charting single as well as the first top 10 single of his career as lead artist to date.

"A Lie" featuring The Weeknd was sent to rhythmic radio as the album's third official single on August 22, 2017. It peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Famous" was sent to rhythmic radio as the album's fourth official single on November 28, 2017. A remix version featuring Adam Levine, released on August 24, 2018.[12]

Promotional singles

On July 11, 2017, "Jump" featuring American rapper Travis Scott, was released as a promotional single.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[14]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[15]
Exclaim!	9/10[16]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[17]

Jungle Rules received generally favorable reviews from critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 8 reviews.[14] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork commented that "Jungle Rules doesn't answer any of the questions that have circled French Montana his entire career, chiefly: Can he be a leading man and can he be as interesting on wax as he is in the day to day? He has evolved quite a bit since Excuse My French, coming up with moments of sharpness, but he is still limited in what he can do. His music flattens the showy life he lives. If there's a case to be made for his vibrance, it isn't this."[17] Riley Wallace of Exclaim! gave a positive review, stating French Montana "delivers a cohesive cover-to-cover platter of flame emojis that traverse his range".[16] Neil Yeung of AllMusic wrote: "In the end, with enough highlights that could constitute a tighter and more effective track list, Jungle Rules suffers from lengthy playlist aspirations and not enough focus."[15]

Commercial performance

Jungle Rules debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 52,000 album-equivalent units, of which 16,000 were pure album sales in its first week.[18] On June 11, 2020, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States.[19]

Track listing

Credits adapted from album's liner notes,Tidal, and ASCAP.[20][21][22]

Jungle Rules[23]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Whiskey Eyes" (featuring Chinx)	Karim Kharbouch Lionel Pickens Fe Knight Shaun Lopez Nick Long Benjamin Diehl Khaled Khaled	Ben Billions Rick Steel Shaun Lopez^[b]	4:44
2.	"Unforgettable" (featuring Swae Lee)	Kharbouch Khalif Brown Christopher Washington Jagvir Aujla McCulloch Sutphin Abel Tesfaye Jeremy Felton Michael Len Williams Martin McKinney Carlo Montagnese	C.P Dubb Jaegan 1Mind^[c]	3:53
3.	"Trippin"	Kharbouch Marc Griffin Diehl Khaled	Ben Billions	2:56
4.	"A Lie" (featuring The Weeknd and Max B)	Kharbouch Tesfaye Charly Wingate Rory Quigley Jason Quenneville Danny Schofield Matt Carillo Fred Lowinger Russ Mitkowski Matthew Quinones William Quigley Mehdi Jenati	Harry Fraud DaHeala^[b] DannyBoyStyles^[b] Masar^[b]	3:46
5.	"Jump" (featuring Travis Scott)	Kharbouch Jacques Webster Jeryn Peters Imogen Heap	Nova	3:41
6.	"Hotel Bathroom"	Kharbouch Christopher Dotson Deion Stephenson Melvin Moore Floyd Bentley Ishmael Montague Adam Feeney	A1 ISM Frank Dukes	3:51
7.	"Bring Dem Things" (featuring Pharrell)	Kharbouch Pharrell Williams Austin Donawa R. Quigley Paul Butterfield Jim Waynie David Sanborn Charles Mingus Paul Simon	Harry Fraud Pharrell^[a]	3:16
8.	"Bag" (featuring Ziico Niico)	Kharbouch Sherwin Charles Nico Burrell	Ziggy on the Keyboard	3:37
9.	"Migo Montana" (featuring Quavo)	Kharbouch Quavious Marshall London Holmes	London on da Track	3:38
10.	"No Pressure" (featuring Future)	Kharbouch Nayvadius Wilburn Bentley Noel Fisher Melvin Moore Dotson Jordan Holt Dijon McFarlane	J-Holt A1^[a] Detail^[a]	3:27
11.	"Push Up"	Kharbouch Shane Lindstrom Kevin Gomringer Tim Gomringer	Murda Beatz Cubeatz^[a]	3:02
12.	"Stop It" (featuring T.I.)	Kharbouch Clifford Harris, Jr. Scott Storch Diego Ave	Storch	3:05
13.	"Black Out" (featuring Young Thug)	Kharbouch Jeffery Williams Shamann Cooke	Beat Billionaire	3:38
14.	"She Workin" (featuring Marc E. Bassy)	Kharbouch Griffin William Mosgrove James Hau Gibbs David Park Nicholas Balding	Nic Nac Count Bassy NGHTxNGHT DaviDior^[b] Rick Steel^[b]	3:07
15.	"Formula" (featuring Alkaline)	Kharbouch Earlan Bartley Leonandre Miller	Alkaline Lee Milla	3:54
16.	"Famous"	Kharbouch Richard Butler Jeremy Jordan-Jones Dwayne Nesmith Floyd Hills	Rico Love DtownThaGreat DanjaHandz^[b]	4:04
17.	"Too Much"	Kharbouch Alex Lustig Lonnie Kimble	Lustig	2:56
18.	"White Dress"	Kharbouch Felton Theodore Tchamala Francisco Soto Ahmad Balshe	2Epik	3:43
Total length:				64:19

Track notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[c]} signifies an uncredited producer
• "Unforgettable" originally featured a guest verse from Jeremih

Sample credits

• "Jump" contains a sample of "Headlock", written and performed by Imogen Heap.
• "Bring Dem Things" contains a sample of "Last Hope's Gone", written by Paul Butterfield, Jim Haynie and David Sanborn, and performed by The Paul Buttefield Blues Band; samples of "Mingus Fingus No. 2", written and performed by Charles Mingus; and a sample of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras", written by Paul Simon, and performed by Bob James.
• "Bag" is a remix of "That Bag", written and performed by Ziico Niico.
• "Formula" is a remix of "Formula", written and performed by Alkaline.
• "White Dress" contains a sample of "Aeorien", written by Francisco Vidal, and performed by Fran Soto featuring Aeralie Bringhton.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[21]

Performance

• French Montana — primary artist
• Chinx — featured artist (track 1)
• Swae Lee — featured artist (track 2)
• The Weeknd — featured artist (track 3)
• Max B — featured artist (track 3)
• Travis Scott — featured artist (track 5)
• Pharrell Williams — featured artist (track 7)
• Ziico Niico — featured artist (track 8)
• Quavo — featured artist (track 9)
• Future — featured artist (track 10)
• T.I. —featured artist (track 12)
• Young Thug — featured artist (track 13)
• Marc E. Bassy — featured artist (track 14)
• Alkaline — featured artist (track 15)
• Fe — background vocals (tracks 1 and 18)
• Fernick Gibbs — background vocals (track 3)
• Rick Steel — background vocals (track 3)
• The Kid Daytona — background vocals (track 7)
• Dafina Zeqiri — background vocals (track 16)
• Terik Morris — speaker (track 15)
• Rico Love — background vocals (track 17)

Production

• Puff Daddy — executive production
• French Montana — executive production
• Rick Steel — executive production, production (track 1), additional production (track 14)
• Ben Billions — production (tracks 1 and 3)
• C.P Dubb — production (track 2)
• Jaegan — production (track 2)
• 1Mind — production (track 2)
• Harry Fraud — production (tracks 4 and 7)
• Nova — production (track 5)
• Floyd Bentley — production (track 6), co-production (track 10)
• Frank Dukes — production (track 6)
• Ism — production (track 6)
• Ziggy on the Keyboard — production (track 8)
• London on da Track — production (track 9)
• J Holt — production (track 10)
• Murda Beatz — production (track 11)
• Scott Storch — production (track 12)
• Beat Billionaire — production (track 13)
• Nic Nac — production (track 14)
• NightxNight — production (track 14)
• Alkaline — production (track 15)
• Lee Milla — production (track 15)
• DtownThaGreat — production (track 16)
• Rico Love — production (track 16)
• Alex Lustig — production (track 17)
• 2Epik — production (track 18)
• Shaun Lopez — additional production (track 1)
• DaHeala — additional production (track 4)
• DannyBoyStyles — additional production (track 4)
• Masar — additional production (track 4)
• DanjaHandz — additional production (track 16)
• DaviDior — additional production (track 14)
• Pharrel Williams — co-production (track 7)
• Detail — co-production (track 10)
• CuBeatz — co-production (track 11)

Technical

• Michelle Mancini — mastering (tracks 1, 3-9, 11-18)
• Dave Kutch — mastering (track 2 and 10)
• Jaycen Joshua — mixing (tracks 1-11, 13-18)
• Fabian Marasciullo — mixing (track 12)
• Ell — recording (tracks 1-4, 7, 9-12, 14, 15, 17, and 18)
• Rick Steel — recording (tracks 1-8, 10, 14, and 18)
• Floyd Bentley — recording (track 4)
• Harry Fraud — recording (tracks 4 and 5)
• Masar — recording (track 4)
• Shi Kamiyama — recording (track 4)
• Jaydawn — recording (track 7)
• Evan LaRay Brunson — recording (track 8)
• Bijan — recording (track 11)
• Shawn Jarrett — recording (track 13)
• John Shullman — recording (track 16)
• David Nakaji — engineering assistance (tracks 1-11, 13-18)
• Maddox Chim — engineering assistance (tracks 1-11, 13-18)
• Raul Barcena — engineering assistance (track 1)
• Sean Klein — engineering assistance (track 1)
• McCoy Socalgargoyle — engineering assistance (track 12)

Design

• Ben Swantek — Art design and Photography
• Koury Angelo — Photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 67 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 64 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26] 2 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[27] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 14 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 17 French Albums (SNEP)[30] 62 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 78 Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 92 New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[33] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 12 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 14 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 43 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 33 US Billboard 200[38] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[39] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[40] 70 US Billboard 200[41] 130 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[42] 44

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[43]	Platinum	80,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[44]	Gold	10,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[45]	Gold	10,000^^
United States (RIAA)[46]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Jungle Rules - French Montana | Overview | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
2. "Top 40/Rhythmic-Crossover > Future Releases". AllAccess Music Group. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
3. "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017.
4. Lindsey India (June 26, 2017). "French Montana's Jungle Rules Album Drops Next Month". XXL. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
5. @FrencHMonTanA (August 25, 2015). "JUNGLE RULES‼️" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
6. @FrencHMonTanA (August 29, 2015). "#onehellofnight #junglerules #newtape..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
7. "Ready For A Fetty Wap And French Montana Mixtape?". MTV.com. October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015.
8. "Sanaa Lathan unveils French Montana and Fetty Wap's CokeZoo mixtape cover". HipHopVibe. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015.
9. Carl Lamarre (June 13, 2017). "French Montana Screens New Documentary Project: Unforgettable, Previews Weeknd, Max B & Pharrell Collaborations". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
10. "French Montana Talks Iggy Azalea, Snipe Squad Commandments + His Smash Hit Unforgettable". Power 105.1. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
11. "French Montana Reveals 'Jungle Rules' Tracklist". HipHop-N-More. July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
12. "French Montana – Lost Stars featuring Adam Levine". iTunes Store. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
13. "French Montana - Jump (Feat. Travis Scott)". Rap Dose. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
14. "Reviews and Tracks for Jungle Rules by French Montana". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
15. Yeung, Neil. "Jungle Rules – French Montana". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
16. Wallace, Riley (July 18, 2017). "French Montana Jungle Rules". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
17. Pearce, Sheldon (July 19, 2017). "French Montana: Jungle Rules Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
18. Caulfield, Keith (July 23, 2017). "JAY-Z's '4:44' Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart, French Montana Debuts at No. 3". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
19. "RIAA Certifications - French Montana". Retrieved June 15, 2020.
20. "Digital Booklet - Jungle Rules" (PDF). DocDroid. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
21. "Jungle Rules / French Montana TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
22. "ACE Repertory". ASCAP. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
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24. "ARIA Chart Watch #430". auspOp. July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
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26. "French Montana Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
27. "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 31, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
28. "Dutchcharts.nl – French Montana – Jungle Rules" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
29. "French Montana: Jungle Rules" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
30. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 29, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
31. "Offiziellecharts.de – French Montana – Jungle Rules" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
32. "Italiancharts.com – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
33. "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
34. "Norwegiancharts.com – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
35. "Swedishcharts.com – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
36. "Swisscharts.com – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
38. "French Montana Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
39. "French Montana Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
40. "Album Top-100 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
41. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
42. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
43. "Canadian album certifications – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Music Canada.
44. "Danish album certifications – French Montana – Jungle Rules". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved December 18, 2018. Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
45. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (French Montana; 'Jungle Rules')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
46. "American album certifications – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.