By Any Means

Kevin Gates holds nothing back on *By Any Means*, a mixtape released just as the Louisiana rapper was becoming a national star. Backed by dense, thunderous trap beats and horror-movie piano lines, Gates tackles subject matter that most MCs would leave untouched. \"Posed To Be In Love\" paints a disturbing portrait of a man being left by his girlfriend, while \"Wish I Had It\" zooms out, the rapper juggling flows as he narrates a tour of an impoverished \"different city within the city.\"

With his Atlantic debut looming on the horizon and a higher profile than he's ever enjoyed, the Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates' newest mixtape is packed with uptempo anthems, chest-pumping bravado, and a 2 Chainz guest spot. The beats here are a little bigger than in the past and have more of a sheen to them.

Kevin Gates' climb to the top of hip-hop continues on By Any Means, his official 2014 mixtape.