Kevin Gates  is a Baton Rouge native, who wrote his first rap song in the 7th grade.  However, rap wasn’t always his focus. Gates was caught up in street life and all that entails for all of his youth, which resulted in jail time. Although he was doing rap in between, things didn’t go full throttle until he got out of prison in 2011. With a string of mixtapes behind him, he started gaining notable buzz with The Luca Brasi Story in March 2013, which he soon followed up with a debut album, Stranger Than Fiction. The long list of mixtapes and the strong album release gained him new fans, and he’s now a certified buzz-worthy MC. Gates has collaborated with fellow Lousiana natives Webbie and Lil Boosie, as well as Juicy J, Pusha T, and Wiz Khalifa. Gates is currently under Lil Wayne’s Young Money management.

Photo credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

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