New York, NY – French Montana’s upcoming Montega album with longtime collaborator Harry Fraud is right around the corner, and the New York rapper had a special listening party right in the heart of his hometown on Sunday (June 19).

The event took place at Sei Less restaurant in Midtown Manhattan and was attended by several guests, but there was one guest in particular who turned heads. In the middle of playing the album for his friends and fans, French Montana was surprised by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Clips from the party show French and Mayor Adams embracing each another and having dinner together while fans gawked at the mayor actually showing up to a Hip Hop event.

“It ain’t an album release party until the mayor gets here,” the Bronx native joked before Mayor Adams co-signed his forthcoming Montega LP, saying, “And you know this is going to be a hot album because French knows how to do it.”

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In February, Mayor Adams was criticized for blaming New York drill for the surge in gun violence amongst the youth in the Big Apple and called for a ban on the popular genre. Fivio Foreign and several NYC rappers met with Mayor Adams following his comments and vowed to stop the violence while uplifting the culture.

Dropping Friday (June 24), Montega is just the latest in a long line of collaborations between French Montana and Harry Fraud, whose partnership dates back to early hits like “Shot Caller” and “New York Minute.” The Coke Boys capo is hailing the project as “rap album of the year.”

Montega will serve as the follow-up to French’s 2021 solo LP They Got Amnesia, which featured appearances from Kodak Black, Doja Cat, Rick Ross and more. Its all-star supporting cast failed to lift it higher than No. 59 on the Billboard 200, though, marking French’s lowest-charting effort of his career.

Watch French’s latest video for “Blue Chills” below.