If you’re used to the grit and grime of Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates, be prepared to meet a more mellow Gates on his debut retail album.
Whether it’s because of his recent marriage to Shadreka Haynes or simply because the album is titled after his eldest daughter, Gates’ performance in his album “Islah” — an Arabic word that means “to improve, to better or to put something in a better position” – undoubtedly displays musical progression from his previous mixtape releases.
In the album’s opening track, “Not the Only One,” Gates addresses being in love and the failure of past relationships that won’t allow him to reach that level with anyone again.
His lines, “Lay me for a bricklayer slangin’ weight / Fell in love, made a new mistake” indicate the danger of falling in love for someone living a life like his and his repeated brash delivery of, “Say you love me, yeah / I know that I’m not the only one,” and, “I can’t be the one you love,” seem to reiterate his animosity towards the emotion.
But then, there’s “Time for That”, with lines like “Do you think I’ll ever need your love more than you need me? / Show me your true colors girl, I just want to see / Cause I done had too many come around and change on me,” that show a side of Gates that is ready for love with someone else who is ready for it, too.
“Pride,” a heart-to-heart confession to his wife, speaks of love with both hope and fear in the lines “As if it ain’t okay to cry, try to be the tough guy / Think about you all the time, start to feel it backfire / No one love you like I, hope our love don’t expire.”
With a reputation like Gates’, controversy is sure to follow, as he even addresses the woman he kicked at a show for allegedly grabbing him inappropriately in “The Truth.”
“You should have respect for yourself / You a queen and you wasn’t respecting yourself / Ever been disrespected, you know how it felt / You don’t have to like me go love someone else,” express remorse of his actions, but remain unrelenting in his intolerance of disrespect.
And fans of past mixtapes will not be disappointed, because songs such as “Thought I Heard (Bread Winners’ Anthem)” and “La Familia” still deliver the hard, explicit themes and lyrics of Gates that they know with the heavy pounding beats that they love.
Lovers of his extremely catchy and almost pop-like hooks get their fix as well, as Gates’ choruses throughout are worthy of getting stuck in your head, especially on hit singles like “2 Phones” and “Really Really”, both of which make appearances on The Billboard Hot 100 chart.
With his first commercial album, Kevin Gates shows growth as an artist that will both welcome new listeners and give the old, loyal followers just a taste of something new.
Tickets are on sale now for Gates’ tour, which will make its way to The Lyric in Oxford at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 4.
