What is it about the songs by Kevin Gates that make listeners so emotionally moved? It might be the lyrics themselves, but it’s also the content. It’s the raw narratives Gates weaves into his songs, which are searing and revealing of grim life stories. Gates once spent three years in prison for a gun charge, but instead of fading away from the music scene, he rose to fame as a local star. Whatever it is about the lyrics, Gates has the power to reach his listeners.
Despite his criminal past, Gates has made it a point to keep his music honest. He has a supplier for illegal goods, and he uses one phone for transactions and another for communications with his contraband loader. Gates, who was arrested in 2013, believes that you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t incorporate emotion into his lyrics. And he certainly has a few songs with this theme.
