Kevin Gates

 Kevin Jerome Gilyard (born February 5th, 1986),better known by his stage name Kevin Gates, is an American artist, rapper, and businessman. He is currently signed to Bread Winners' Association with the partnership of Atlantic Records. His debut studio album, Islah, released in January 2016 and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. Before Islah, Gates also released several mixtapes which included Stranger Than Fiction, By Any Means and Luca Brasi 2, all of which peaked in the top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart.Gates began his career in 2007 by signing to local label Dead Game Records. His career exploded alongside fellow Baton Rouge natives Boosie Badazz and Webbie in the late 2000s. The three collaborated on Gates' debut mixtape, Pick of Da Litter in 2007. Another mixtape, All or Nuthin', was released in 2008 and included what Gates called "a lot of pain...a number of real stories. "In 2008 the two of them Gates as well as Boosie were incarcerated in separate instances, effectively stopping Gates his music career. Between 2008 and 2011, Gates spent 31 months in prison. Gates claimed that he earned a master's degree in psychology from an in-prison program. He was released early after a good conduct record.