French Montana Wears Avianne
on the September Cover of
Rolling Stone Canada
Rapper, entrepreneur, and global hitmaker French Montana chose Avianne & Co. diamond jewelry for his Rolling Stone Canada September 2026 cover shoot — photographed by Smith Durogene.
French Montana landed the September 2026 cover of Rolling Stone Canada. The feature — "The World According to French Montana," written by Peony Hirwani and shot by photographer Smith Durogene — is a career-spanning conversation that covers everything from the Cocaine City DVDs in the Bronx to "Unforgettable" going double Diamond in Canada, to his current independent run, BET Awards performances, and a VMA nomination alongside Kendrick Lamar and Madonna.
The jewelry in the cover shoot is Avianne & Co.
Photos from the shoot were posted on Instagram, showing French wearing the Avianne pieces across multiple frames from the editorial.
A custom build rooted
in Moroccan heritage.
The piece Avianne built for French Montana is a full custom rose gold chain and pendant that ties directly to his identity. The centerpiece is a double-headed eagle with outstretched wings, topped by a diamond-set crown and anchored by the letters "CB" — Coke Boys. Across the bottom, the inscription reads "SEMPER FIDELIS" — always faithful. At the center of the eagle sits the Moroccan star, rendered in green emeralds against a field of purple stones — a direct tribute to French's roots and the country he was born in.
The chain itself is built on custom clover-shaped links in rose gold and white gold, fully set with round-cut diamonds and baguettes. Integrated into the chain are multiple medallions, including a full rendition of the FRMF crest — the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football, Morocco's national football federation — built in green emeralds, purple stones, and white diamonds with Arabic script wrapping the border. Additional medallions feature the Moroccan star inside laurel wreath borders and stone-set discs woven throughout the chain's structure.
French talked about Morocco and the FIFA World Cup throughout his Rolling Stone interview — joking about needing someone to step on Kylian Mbappé's foot when Morocco plays France and proudly declaring his support for the national team. This piece puts that pride into physical form. Every element — the FRMF crest, the Moroccan star, the green and purple color palette — references his heritage, built into a chain he wore on the cover of Rolling Stone and on stage at the BET Awards.
The back of the pendant reveals the rose gold framework and hand-engraved filigree detailing — the kind of finishing that only shows when a piece is built entirely in-house. Every link, every medallion, and every stone setting was designed and handcrafted specifically for French Montana at Avianne & Co.'s showroom at 28 W 47th Street.
20 years of hip-hop.
One cover story.
The Rolling Stone Canada feature is not a quick press hit. It is a deep, long-form conversation that traces French Montana's entire trajectory — arriving in New York from Morocco as a teenager with limited English, building a grassroots platform through street DVDs, signing to Bad Boy Records, and eventually creating one of the most-streamed rap songs in history.
"Unforgettable" with Swae Lee — released in 2017 — has now been certified double Diamond in Canada. French is only the second rap artist to hold that distinction in the country. His albums Excuse My French and Jungle Rules both cracked the top five on the Billboard 200. Collaborators across his catalog include Drake, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, and Swae Lee.
In the interview, French spoke at length about going fully independent — releasing music without a major label and still reaching No. 1 on U.S. rhythmic radio, performing on the BET Awards main stage, and earning a Best Collaboration nomination at the 2026 MTV VMAs. He described independence as the best decision of his career and talked about proving that artists don't need to give up ownership to compete at the highest level.
What French talked about
in Rolling Stone.
The interview went far beyond music. French discussed the 2026 FIFA World Cup — he's Moroccan-born and proudly supporting Morocco — and joked about needing someone to step on Kylian Mbappé's foot when Morocco plays France. He talked about bridging U.K. and American hip-hop through a full collaborative album with D-Block Europe, which he says will be the first of its kind. He talked about Dapper Dan, New York's role as the birthplace of hip-hop, and why the city's style of rap — while foundational — is no longer the style that dominates the charts.
He also gave his take on where hip-hop is heading financially. French believes artists becoming billionaires will soon be the norm, not the exception, pointing to Jay-Z as the existing proof of concept. And on the subject of longevity, he described a simple test he applies to every new record: can he listen to it for the rest of his life? If the answer is no, it doesn't make the cut.
When asked what success means to him after two decades in the industry, French stripped it down: being free, waking up and loving what you do, and making sure your family never needs for anything.
A Rolling Stone cover. A double Diamond record. A VMA nomination. And Avianne on his neck for the Rolling Stone shoot that captured it all.
Three covers, three worlds,
one jeweler.
French Montana is not a new face at 28 W 47th Street. He has been an Avianne & Co. client for years — one of several artists who have come back to the shop multiple times to build and add to their collections. Avianne's own About page and Visit Our Store page both list French among the names who have walked through the Diamond District showroom alongside Drake, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, and Bobby Shmurda. The VH1 profile on Avianne's Elliot Avianne also confirmed French as a client as far back as 2015. This Rolling Stone cover is the latest chapter in a relationship that has been building for a long time.
And it lands at a moment when Avianne is showing up everywhere. MrBeast wore a custom diamond and blue sapphire panther pendant in Lil Baby's "Dead Fresh" remix — 51 million TikTok views in 72 hours. Aniya Harvey from Love Island USA wore Avianne throughout her exclusive EBONY Magazine feature. And now a long-time client on the cover of Rolling Stone Canada.
The full cover story
and the photos.
Your moment.
Your jeweler.
Magazine covers, music videos, milestone celebrations — every custom piece at Avianne & Co. starts with a conversation. Walk into 28 W 47th Street or reach out online. The team has been building one-of-one pieces for over 25 years, and the standard hasn't changed.
with a conversation.
