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).
Backgroundedit
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]
Singlesedit
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. The two remix versions of the song featuring HoodCelebrityy and Adam Levine, were both released on February 9 and August 24, 2018, respectively.[12][13]
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.[15] 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."[18] 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".[17] 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."[16]
"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.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Referencesedit
^ ab"Jungle Rules - French Montana | Overview | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
^"Top 40/Rhythmic-Crossover > Future Releases". AllAccess Music Group. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
^"Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017.
^ abLindsey India (June 26, 2017). "French Montana's Jungle Rules Album Drops Next Month". XXL. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
^@FrencHMonTanA (August 26, 2015). "JUNGLE RULES‼️" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
^@FrencHMonTanA (August 30, 2015). "#onehellofnight #junglerules #newtape..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2017 – via Twitter.
^"Ready For A Fetty Wap And French Montana Mixtape?". MTV.com. October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015.
^"Sanaa Lathan unveils French Montana and Fetty Wap's CokeZoo mixtape cover". HipHopVibe. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015.
^ abCarl Lamarre (June 13, 2017). "French Montana Screens New Documentary Project: Unforgettable, Previews Weeknd, Max B & Pharrell Collaborations". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
^"French Montana Talks Iggy Azalea, Snipe Squad Commandments + His Smash Hit Unforgettable". Power 105.1. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
^"French Montana Reveals 'Jungle Rules' Tracklist". HipHop-N-More. July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
^"French Montana – Famous (Remix) featuring HoodCelebrityy". iTunes Store. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
^"French Montana – Famous (Remix) featuring Adam Levine". iTunes Store. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
^ abPearce, Sheldon (July 19, 2017). "French Montana: Jungle Rules Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
^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.
^"RIAA Certifications - French Montana". Retrieved June 15, 2020.
^"ARIA Chart Watch #430". auspOp. July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
^"Ultratop.be – French Montana – Jungle Rules" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
^"French Montana Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
^"Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 31, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – French Montana – Jungle Rules" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
^"French Montana Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
^"French Montana Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
^"Album Top-100 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
^"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
^"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^"Canadian album certifications – French Montana – Jungle Rules". Music Canada.
^"Danish album certifications – French Montana – Jungle Rules". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved December 18, 2018. Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.