Kevin Gates, whose real name is Kevin Jerome Gilyard, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but his family moved to Baton Rouge shortly after.
His mom, Lucille Gilyard, is originally from Puerto Rico, which makes Kevin part Puerto Rican on her side.
Highlights
- Kevin Gates’s mother, Lucille, remarried after splitting from Kevin’s biological dad.
- He spent more time with his grandparents, especially his grandma, who he says “really raised me the majority of my life.”
- His biological father was African American, and he didn’t meet him until he was in eighth grade.
Lucille worked hard to care for Kevin and his two siblings- a brother named Brandon and a sister whose name isn’t public.
She was an English teacher with a steady job, but life wasn’t simple.
Kevin has said she “did the best she could” as a parent, which shows he knows she tried, even if things got messy.
They lived in low-income housing in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward for a while before settling in Baton Rouge.
Kevin Gates Talked About Growing Up With A Stepdad, An Absent Biological Father, And Strong Grandparent Influence
Lucille remarried after splitting from Kevin’s biological dad, and her second husband (Kevin’s stepdad) helped raise him early on.
Kevin considered him his real dad for years because his biological father wasn’t around much.
Lucille was close to Kevin when he was little, but later, he spent more time with his grandparents, especially his grandma, who he says “really raised me the majority of my life.”
Kevin’s biological father was African American, and he didn’t meet him until he was in eighth grade.
By then, his dad was already sick, and he passed away of AIDS when Kevin was 17.
That hit Kevin hard, especially since they had little time to connect.
Before that, Kevin’s stepdad filled the “dad” role, and Kevin said good things about him, like, “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be a man of great character.”
Growing up, Kevin’s family life was all over the place.
His mom and stepdad tried to keep things together, but he still ended up in trouble, like getting arrested at 13 for joyriding in a stolen car.
His grandparents took over a lot of the parenting later, especially after his grandpa, who was a lawyer and a father figure, passed away when Kevin was in middle school.
Lucille stayed in Baton Rouge most of her life, raising her kids the best she knew how, while his biological dad’s absence left a mark Kevin’s talked about in his music.
Additional Information
- Kevin Gates is signed to Bread Winners’ Association in collaboration with Atlantic Records.
- His first studio album, Islah, came out in January 2016 and reached number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
- Before releasing Islah, Gates released several successful mixtapes, such as Stranger Than Fiction (2013), By Any Means (2014), and Luca Brasi 2 (2014), all of which reached the top 40 on the Billboard 200.
