[6] Prior to Islah, Gates also released a number of mixtapes, including Stranger Than Fiction (2013), By Any Means (2014), and Luca Brasi 2 (2014), all of which peaked in the top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart.
[4] Kevin Jerome Gilyard was born on February 5, 1986, to a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father.
[8][2] Gates had an often tumultuous upbringing and was arrested for the first time in 1999 at the age of 13 for joyriding in a stolen vehicle as a passenger.
He noted, however, that it was Birdman who gave him the idea to start his own record label, named Bread Winners' Association, later on.
[16] In early 2013, Gates released the mixtape, The Luca Brasi Story, via his Bread Winners' Association record label.
The mixtape received critical praise with Pitchfork saying it, "imbues trap's claustrophobic bleakness with an emotional nakedness, capable lyricism, and melodic certitude many of its recent breakout stars have lacked.
[24] In May 2014, Gates was named a member of XXL's Freshman Class[27] He also announced the By Any Means Tour, which would run from July 15 to August 30, 2014 and feature Chevy Woods.
[36] In late August 2015, Gates was the subject of some controversy after a video surfaced of him allegedly kicking a female fan in the chest at a show in Lakeland, Florida.
[38] Later in October 2015, Gates announced the title and release date of his debut studio album, Islah, which means "to make better" in Arabic and is also the name of his firstborn daughter.
[42][24] The album had almost no guest appearances with the exception of Trey Songz, Ty Dolla Sign, and Jamie Foxx who are all featured on the bonus track, "Jam".
The mixtape was recorded earlier in 2021 in Puerto Rico, with Gates explaining that this was done to celebrate his family heritage on the island.
[42] In a review of his debut album Islah, Consequence of Sound noted that "autobiography and honesty have always been central to [Gates'] artistry.
[42][22] He has listed numerous artists among his influences including Nas, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Eminem, and others.
[10] Gates was charged with battery for kicking a female fan in the summer of 2015 while he was performing on stage at an event in Lakeland, Florida.
[59] Gates was sentenced to a 30-month prison term at the East Moline, IL correctional facility for gun charges stemming from a warrant which arose from an October 2013 arrest in Chicago.
Gates failed to show up in court in Illinois, leading to his warrant being reissued in December 2016, while he was serving his battery sentence (see section preceding).
[60][61] In April 2018, Gates filed a lawsuit (Kevin Gilyard v. John R. Baldwin, Ned Shwartz, and Jason Garnett) against his parole officer, the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC), and its chief of parole for denying his requests to travel outside of Cook County, Illinois, where he was serving his probation, to perform and visit family.
[63] The case, heard in the USDC for the Northern District of Illinois, was dismissed on May 2, 2018 in a minute order following a summary hearing.
[64] Gates filed an emergency petition requesting injunctive relief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which heard the case beginning on May 7, 2018.
[65] On May 9, 2018, a three judge panel dismissed his emergency petition, and scheduled the case to be heard non-urgently at a later date.
[66] On June 18, Gates was granted his requested voluntary dismissal of his own case (FRAP 42(b)) as the issue had become moot—his parole was terminated early by the Illinois DOC in motu proprio.
[69] Although he missed the JMBLYA music festival in Austin, Texas, which he originally filed his petitions to attend,[70] Gates was able to return to live performances at The Novos in Los Angeles the following June.