Unsparing and reflective, gruff but lyrical, Kevin Gates is among the most prolific and commercially successful rappers in contemporary hip-hop. The Baton Rouge MC spent five-plus years on the mixtape circuit before climbing into the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 with his 2013 release Stranger Than Fiction. He narrowly missed the top of the chart in 2016, landing at number two with his proper debut album, the platinum-certified Islah. From 2016 to 2018, he routinely hit the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 with volumes in his mixtape series Murder for Hire, By Any Means, and L...