# Montana of 300

Walter Anthony "Tony" Bradford (born March 3, 1989), better known by his stage name Montana of 300 (or simply Montana), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. His debut studio album, Fire in the Church, was released on May 20, 2016. He is best known for his rap style, incorporating trap, R&B, and drill beats, while also making remixes to hit songs that, like his originals, often include religious subtext.
Since releasing Fire in the Church, Montana has committed to releasing an album every year on May 20. The significance of the date is unknown. His second album, Don't Doubt the God, was released on May 20, 2017, and his third album, Pray 4 the Devil, was released on May 20, 2018. His fourth album, A Gun In The Teacher’s Desk, was released on November 16, 2018, and on May 20, 2019, Montana would release his fifth album, Views from the General's Helmet.
Montana has repeatedly announced that his sixth album, Rap God, would be his final solo release. After several delays dating back to 2019, the album was finally released on January 6, 2022.

## Early life

Tony Bradford was born on March 3, 1989, in Chicago, Illinois. He has two brothers and three sisters. He started rapping at age 15, and grew up listening to artists such as Tupac, DMX, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z. Both his parents suffered from serious substance abuse issues, his father from alcohol and his mother from crack cocaine. After witnessing his parents' struggles, Montana ceased using narcotics, not wanting to "fry his brain."
In 2008, Montana, his friend from high school, Montelle Talley (known professionally as "Talley of 300"), as well as several others joined to form the rap group "300". The name for the group was based on the movie of the same name, in which a group of 300 Spartans overcome more than 300,000 Persian Soldiers to hold on to their territory. Montana was particularly inspired by the line, "No Surrender, No Retreat, Only the hard, only the strong, Against all odds".

## Career

In 2014, Montana released his first mixtape, titled Cursed with a Blessing. In September 2015, Montana made a cameo appearance in the popular television show, Empire. In December 2015, Montana and Talley of 300 released a collaborative mixtape titled Gunz and Roses. Staples of this tape included "FGE Cypher" and "Mf's Mad".
On May 20, 2016, Montana released his debut studio album, titled Fire in the Church. The 18-track release, which only included features from his Fly Guy Entertainment labelmates and Kevin Gates, was lauded by XXL magazine for its "heat-seeking bars and thought-provoking metaphors". The album peaked at #95 on the Billboard 200.
On February 10, 2017, Montana released a compilation album with his Fly Guy labelmates, titled No Surrender No Retreat.
On February 11, 2025, it was announced that Montana was arrested on multiple charges; such as Criminal Trespassing, Domestic Battery, Resisting Arrest, and Theft.

## Discography
### Albums
#### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US R&B/HH | US Rap | US Ind. |
| Fire in the Church | Released: May 20, 2016 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment Format: CD, digital download | 95 | 7 | 2 | 11 |
| Don't Doubt the God | Released: May 20, 2017 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment, E1 Music Format: CD, digital download | — | — | 4 | 22 |
| Pray for the Devil | Released: May 20, 2018 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment, E1 Music Format: CD, digital download | — | — | 3 | 37 |
| A Gun in the Teachers Desk | Released: November 16, 2018 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment, E1 Music Format: CD, digital download | — | — | 10 | — |
| Views from the General's Helmet | Released: May 20, 2019 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment, E1 Music Format: CD, digital download | — | — | — | — |
| Rap God | Released: January 6, 2022 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment, E1 Music Format: CD, digital download | — | — | — | 1 |

#### Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Cursed With a Blessing | Released: December 1, 2014 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment Format: Digital download |
| Gunz n Roses (with Talley of 300) | Released: December 2, 2015 Label: TSO Records Format: Digital download |

#### Compilation album

| Title | Details |
| No Surrender No Retreat (with Fly Guy Entertainment) | Released: February 10, 2017 Label: Fly Guy Entertainment Format: CD, digital download |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Derrick Rose MVP Song" | 2011 | Non-album single |
| "Ice Cream Truck" | 2014 | Cursed With a Blessing |
| "Gas Mask" (with Talley of 300) | 2015 | Gunz n Roses |
| "Nothing New" (with Talley of 300) | 2015 | Gunz n Roses |
| "You Know" (with Talley of 300) | 2015 | Gunz n Roses |
| "Mf's Mad, Pt. 2" (featuring Talley of 300) | 2016 | Fire in the Church |
| "Land of the Dark" | 2016 | Fire in the Church |
| "Here Now" | 2016 | Fire in the Church |
| "Wts Now" | 2016 | Fire in the Church |
| "Dirty Dancin'" | 2017 | Don't Doubt the God |
| "Ugly" | 2018 | Pray for the Devil |
| "Chiraq vs. NY" | 2018 | Pray for the Devil |
| "Been a Beast" | 2018 | A Gun in the Teacher's Desk |
| "Dip-n-Sauce" | 2018 | A Gun in the Teacher's Desk |

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Bad Combo" (Nasty Nem featuring Montana of 300) | 2014 | Non-album single |
| "Black On Black Everything" (Talley Of 300 featuring Montana of 300) | 2014 | Thanksgiving |
| "Upstate RockStar" (Locx featuring Montana of 300) | 2015 | Non-album singles |
| "Stephen Curry" (J Real featuring Montana of 300) | 2015 | Non-album singles |
| "Black Out" (Jax Teller featuring Montana of 300) | 2015 | Just Another Crazy Kraka |
| "Like Me" (Jewelz Montalvo featuring Montana of 300, Abbie and Tatiana Carrion) | 2016 | Non-album singles |
| "Come Up" (Innocent featuring Montana of 300) | 2017 | Non-album singles |

## Filmography

Television series :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | Empire | Jamming Prisoner | Episode: "Without a Country" |
| 2017 | The Quad | Dreds | Episode: "Pilot" |