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 associated with the Bread Winners' Association through a collaboration with Atlantic Records. His debut studio album, Islah, released in January 2016 and peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Prior to Islah, Gates also released several mixtapes including 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 when he signed to the local label Dead Game Records. The career of the artist grew alongside fellow Baton Rouge natives Boosie Badazz and Webbie in the late 2000s. In 2007, Gates' debut mixtape Pick of Da Litter was released by the trio. Another mixtape, All or Nuthin', was released in 2008, and contained what Gates called "a lot of pain...a lot of true stories. Gates' music career was effectively put on hold when Boosie Gates and Boosie Gates were both incarcerated in 2008 in separate cases. Between 2008 and 2011, he was imprisoned for 31 months. Gates claimed that he obtained a master's in psychology from an in-prison program. He was released from prison for good behavior.