Kevin Gates was born Kevin Jerome Gilyard on February 5, 1986 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He and his brother and sister Tamaja and michael.[1] Gates had an often tumultuous upbringing and was arrested for the first time in 1999 at the age of 13 for "joyriding" as a passenger.[8] When he was 17, he briefly attended Baton Rouge Community College.[5] Gates was charged with battery charges for kicking a fan in the summer of 2015 while he was performing on stage at an event in Lakeland, Florida. He used Florida's Stand Your Ground Law in defense.[9] On October 26, 2016, he was convicted of the charge and sentenced to 180 days in jail.[10] He and his wife converted to Islam and went in September 2016 to Mecca for Hajj.[11][12]