Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates, an MC whose delivery blends gruff tones with lyrical depth, channels the introspective bent of artists like Drake into gangsta rap territory. Based in Louisiana, the rapper logged more than five years on the mixtape scene before breaking into the Billboard 200’s Top 40 via his 2013 project Stranger Than Fiction. In 2016 he came within one slot of the summit when his official debut album, the platinum-certified Islah, landed at number two. Between 2016 and 2018 he repeatedly cracked the upper tier of the Billboard 200 through installments in the Murder for Hire, By Any Means, and Luca Brasi mixtape series, then reached number four with his second studio LP, 2019’s I’m Him. That same year he returned to the Billboard 200 with the Only the Generals Gon Understand EP. His third studio album, Khaza, arrived in 2022 and opened at number eight; after another mixtape he resurfaced in 2024 with the even-keeled fourth full-length The Ceremony.

Born and raised in Baton Rouge as Kevin Jerome Gilyard, he issued his first mixtape, Pick of da Litter, in 2007. Subsequent underground releases such as All In and I Don’t Know What to Call It, Vol. 1 followed over the ensuing years. Momentum shifted after he dropped the widely circulated Luca Brasi Story—the inaugural title on Bread Winners’ Association, the imprint he launched with his wife and booking manager Dreka Gates—leading to guest spots on high-profile mixtapes by Pusha T and Gudda Gudda and a subsequent deal with Atlantic. Stranger Than Fiction, the first project to carry both Bread Winners’ Association and Atlantic logos, surfaced that year and featured Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Starlito before debuting at number 37 on the Billboard 200.

Plies, 2 Chainz, and Doe B appeared on the 2014 mixtape By Any Means. The following year the single “Kno One” set the stage for Islah, which dropped in January 2016, entered the chart at number two, and earned platinum status by August; five months after its release came the EP-length Murder for Hire II. In March 2017 “What If,” whose central hook nodded to Joan Osborne’s 1995 hit “What If God Was One of Us,” surfaced ahead of By Any Means 2, issued that September while Gates served a prison term. Freed in early 2018, he unveiled the Chained to the City EP and the single “How We Livin’.” Luca Brasi 3 reached stores in September and became his third Top Five project.

Several 2019 singles—“Therapy Sh*t 4,” “Big Gangsta,” and “Yukatan”—preceded the May arrival of the Only the Generals Gon Understand EP, which charted and sustained interest until the September release of I’m Him. That sophomore studio album arrived without guest artists and bowed at number four on the Billboard 200. He kept momentum with 2020 singles “Dreka,” “Always Be Gangsta Freestyle,” and “Still Hold Up,” then in 2021 issued the sequel mixtape Only the Generals, Pt. 2, tracked in Puerto Rico.

Gates opened 2022 with the Juicy J-assisted “Thinking with My Dick,” a 2013 recording that regained traction after circulating widely on TikTok. In June he began rolling out YouTube-exclusive clips—including a “Super Gremlin” remix titled “Super General (Freestyle)” and the track “Metro”—to herald his third studio album, Khaza. The June 2022 set featured only one official guest appearance, Juicy J, though uncredited additional vocals from Gucci Mane surfaced elsewhere, and it debuted at number eight. An EP titled FYP followed later that year. In 2023 he released the mixtape The Luca Brasi Story (A Decade of Brasi), which included turns from Master P, Curren$y, and Percy Keith, alongside the singles “Breakfast” and “God Slippers.” The Ceremony, his fourth proper album, surfaced in early 2024, highlighted by the rugged “Yonce Freestyle” and the solo cut “I Don’t Apologize.”