New Orleans rapper Kevin Gates has recently released his new major label debut and named it, Islah, which is the name of his eldest daughter. Being a father, he also shared some of his unorthodox ways on parenting.
He told Hot New Hip Hop the reason why he named his debut after his daughter is because the project represents valuable life lessons he gained from having her. "To inform, to improve, to make better, and I believe that's what my first daughter did to me, so I named my first album after my first daughter," Gates shared.
The album comes with 15 tracks and has no featured star artists. Except for that one bonus track entitled "Jam," which has guest vocals from Trey Songz, Jamie Foxx, and Ty Dolla $ign, and was produced by Smeez. Despite the rapper's risky approach and passive marketing strategy - it worked well as evidenced by his album earning top two spot on Billboard 200.
According to his Rolling Stone's interview, the 30-year old Baton Rouge rapper has also been unconventional with his dealings in his personal life, especially with the way he raises his children. He claims that with his unorthodox parenting style, his daughter Islah Koren, and son Khaza Kamil, are growing up smart and in a sophisticated manner. "They different," he emphasized. "They sit down like little people and just talk."
He also discussed his stand against vaccination telling the Rolling Stone, "I don't believe in conspiracy theories, I'm just a cold-blooded investigator." He clarifies that his stand does not come from the rumors that he has a fear of needles, mentioning his numerous tattoos around his body as an obvious proof.
He even pointed out that because of his skeptical view of vaccines, both of his children were born at home. "A lot of children that was born in a hospital experienced a lot of difficulty that they didn't have to experience," he says.
