Young French, or French Montana as he's now known, is ready for the big time.

You've heard of French if you've been reading Mixtape Monday and Mixtape Daily over the past several years. He started making a name for himself with his street DVD series "Cocaine City." He then transitioned to the mic, most recently garnering buzz with [article id="1600864"]Max B for their Coke Wave[/article] connection.

He signed with [artist id="1240040"]Akon[/artist]'s Konvict Music earlier this year, and now he's ready to sell some records. French is hoping to keep his 'hood momentum going towards the charts after leaking his new single, "Married to the Streets," which features Akon singing on the hook.

" 'Kon had a bunch of records for me," French said, explaining how the song was created. "It sounded like real pop, like Lady Gaga. I hollered at my producer, like, 'Send something to me.' 'Kon's sound changed. It came from 'Locked Up' to another sound. So, when I did that with him, it was a street record. That's how I wanted it to be. Working with Akon is like working with somebody I look up to. I admire his work. I had to come correct. I knew my sound."

French said the reason he wanted to ink with Konvict was obvious: He wanted to be a part of Akon's successful wave.

"As far as I look at Akon, all his artists are successful," he said. "He's got T-Pain, Lady Gaga, all these artists and they're all successful, out touring. There's not too many people you can say that about except for 50 Cent. 50 has Yayo, Banks -- they're out there looking good. Plus, Akon gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. We're out rocking and rolling."

French and 'Kon linked up through SRC Records President Gaby Acevedo.

"[Akon] was in Florida, so he sent for me," French recalled. "I went down there to see him for a week. He was like, 'You can't leave until you sign the contract.' What's up? I went down there and played him all the music. He was like, 'Oh, God!' "