149 Kevin Gates Quotes and Lyrics on Life and Success

This collection of Kevin Gates quotes will show you there’s so much more to his music than what you hear on those tracks.

Tell us your favorite Kevin Gates song in the comment section.

Want to learn more about the man behind the lyrics?

What are the benefits of reading Kevin Gates quotes?

Kevin Jerome Gilyard, professionally known as Kevin Gates, is an American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur.

Known mostly for his autobiographical themes in his songs, his lyrics often deal with subjects like:

• Depression
• Poverty
• Prison time

Gates was born on February 5, 1986, in New Orleans and had a keen interest in music from an early age.

He started to rap at 14 and began his career in the year 2005.

Gates has released several hit singles and mixtapes throughout his career and can be considered one of America’s most successful contemporary singers.

In January 2016, he released his debut album, Islah, which peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Along with his success in music, Gates has had many legal issues and has been in and out of prison multiple times.

He had a tumultuous upbringing and was arrested for the first time at 13 for being a passenger in a stolen vehicle.

But despite having a difficult childhood and being involved in several controversies, Gates has managed to use his Everyday Power to become a successful rapper in the American music industry.

These Kevin Gates quotes can hopefully motivate you to pursue your dreams and make good life choices.

In this respect, here are some inspirational Kevin Gates quotes.

Be sure to read those as well.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our entire collection of motivational quotes here. 

Kevin Gates Quotes and Lyrics on Life and Success

1. “Don’t get mad at me for being the best of what I was created to be.” – Kevin Gates

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2. “Never break or fold, that’s what it takes to be major.” – Kevin Gates

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3. “If you associate yourself with peer pressure or complacency, you’re destined for failure.” – Kevin Gates

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4. “I don’t sleep much. I don’t sleep much – I work, I work, I work.” – Kevin Gates

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5. “I live by the ten percent rule. Save one, you save a thousand.” – Kevin Gates

6. “You can’t make everybody else happy and still stay on top.” – Kevin Gates

7. “You can learn from a dummy. You can watch a dummy and learn what not to do. I’ve always been an observant individual.” – Kevin Gates

8. “I’ve had mixtapes that have been better than albums I’ve heard from other artists. I take my time; I put my heart into it.” – Kevin Gates

9. “Out my window.. I see everything I dream about and wished I had”– Kevin Gates

10. “I’m inspired by everything that goes on around me. I’m a sponge. I’m very analytical. I notice the things that most people don’t notice.” – Kevin Gates

11. “Why accept failure when success is free?” – Kevin Gates

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Kevin Gates quotes about music

12. “I don’t pay attention to sales because it’s not about that for me. It’s about the music. Music is all I have.” – Kevin Gates

13. “I suffer from deep depression, so my only release is music.” – Kevin Gates

14. “I always had music growing up, but music was also like a journal. It was like my personal diary or personal journal. A lot of the things I couldn’t express to an individual, I would express them in my music.” – Kevin Gates

15. “I could care less about the particular. I like to make music.” – Kevin Gates

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16. “Rap was more of a release for me, a journal.” – Kevin Gates

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17. “A hot producer might not make a hot beat for me. I just love music.” – Kevin Gates

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18. “I love to make music, I love to get tattoos…That’s just what I love. If I wasn’t getting paid I’d still do it.”– Kevin Gates

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19. I know I write a lot of my best music in the car, like late night. Three, four in the morning.” – Kevin Gates

20. “Music’s the most therapeutic thing for me. Because I suffer with depression, and it’s my only form of releasing it.” – Kevin Gates
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21. “Music is all I have.” – Kevin Gates

22. “My music is incredible. I don’t know what to call it because I’ve yet to see an artist display the different talents I display or create the different genres that I have created; from the rock and roll to heavy metal to soft rock to rap to country. I display so many styles. That’s why they love me.” – Kevin Gates

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Kevin Gates quotes about love, relationships and family

23. “Marriage is the most wonderful thing ever.” – Kevin Gates

24. “Some may consider this a problem, I easily fall in love.” – Kevin Gates

25. “I like being with my family. That’s my party.” – Kevin Gates

26. “To be honest I am not looking to be romantic, already got someone at home.” – Kevin Gates

27. “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.” – Kevin Gates

28. “I love God, I love everybody else around me as myself, and I love my enemy.” – Kevin Gates

29. “I always wanted a family.” – Kevin Gates

30. “It is illegal to steal my feelings and leave.”  – Kevin Gates

31. “Love’s a battlefield it’s not a one-night stand.” – Kevin Gates

32. “Fall in love fast, make sure I handle it delicate” – Kevin Gates

33. “You have to be intimate with a person to know that person.” – Kevin Gates

Thought-provoking Kevin Gates quotes

34. “Knowledge is provided but only to those who need to know.” – Kevin Gates

35. “Wise men change, fools stay the same.” – Kevin Gates

36. “Without an understanding of bad…how can one truly have an appreciation of good.” – Kevin Gates

37. “Prison was the best thing that ever happened to me.” – Kevin Gates

38. “Bein’ logical gave me a reason to doubt.” – Kevin Gates

39. “Breathing is so important with physical activity, then how much more important is it with psychological activity?” – Kevin Gates

40. “If it matters to you, pursue it aggressively.” – Kevin Gates

41. “All things are obtained by Wisdom and Knowledge.” – Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates quotes about hard work and struggle

42. “I’m not afraid to make mistakes.” – Kevin Gates

43. “My daily conversation, it consists of hustle. Grinding from the bottom sick and tired of struggle.” – Kevin Gates

44. “Jail and the streets go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. They coincide.” – Kevin Gates

45. “I got 6 jobs I don’t get TIRED!” – Kevin Gates

46. “I experience great hurt, this hurt allows me to know I’m alive.” – Kevin Gates

47. “I was built for that pressure.” – Kevin Gates

48. “Came from the bottom, we aim for the stars.” – Kevin Gates

49. “Use the things that make you angry — as fuel to make you better.” – Kevin Gates

50. “I’ve had good times and I’ve had bad times and I reminisce, maybe when I lay down, but throughout my day I keep myself engulfed in whatever moment I’m in because it could steer me into a depressed state.” – Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates quotes to inspire and teach

51. “When you’re in prison, you want to know that you were thought about.” – Kevin Gates

52. “The ones that hate you most tend to be the people you know.” – Kevin Gates

53. “True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind.” – Kevin Gates

54. “Anything lost, can be found again, except for time wasted.” – Kevin Gates

55. “When you come up in the slums, having nothin’ make you humble” – Kevin Gates

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56. “I have respect for every man that demands your respect.” – Kevin Gates

57. “If you not in your own lane, create one.” – Kevin Gates

58. “She says I’m a dog, but it takes one to know one.” – Kevin Gates

59. “I don’t really like talking. I like to execute. I’m not a talking person. I’m an action person.” – Kevin Gates

60. “I put my flaws on front street. So the world accepted my flaws, so I don’t have any flaws.” – Kevin Gates

Inspirational Kevin Gates quotes

61. “If I told you I was different would you understand the difference?” – Kevin Gates

62. “I have trust issues with allowing other individuals to know my innermost secrets for fear of how I may be viewed. Everyone has this.” – Kevin Gates

63. “The only frustrating thing about jail is that I can’t make music.” – Kevin Gates

64. “I never go into a situation with any type of expectations.” – Kevin Gates

65. “Don’t let nobody know that you are a monster. Keep it on the tuck and then surprise ’em.” – Kevin Gates

66. “I believe that life is a journey and for me to tell you my plans; things never go according to plan.” – Kevin Gates

67. “I’m not made out of concrete. I’m a real person.”– Kevin Gates

68. “You learn fast or you die young.”– Kevin Gates

69. “I like where we at now — but I’m in love with where we going.”– Kevin Gates

70. “When you follow your heart, you always win!” – Kevin Gates

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Kevin Gates quotes that will make your day

71. “The things that are most difficult for me to put into words and speak about, I put into my music. I’m just super passionate about my craft and super passionate about what I do.” – Kevin Gates

72. “When you stand for something, you’ve got to stand for it all the way, not halfway.” – Kevin Gates

73. “I adapt and I adjust to whatever environment I’m in.” – Kevin Gates

74. “Glory be and praise to God. I didn’t do any of this. God did. I don’t have a recipe or a blueprint. I prayed for it, and my prayers are continuing to be answered.” – Kevin Gates

75. “I’ve always stood on my own toe. I don’t need a team. don’t do the entourage thing, 30 people. I Just do not do that. That’s just not me.” – Kevin Gates

76. “I look at other people’s lives, and some people feel like they’re too old to play with toys. But I still go through the toy section at the store, ’cause there were toys that I wanted when I was little that I couldn’t have. So I still get them.” – Kevin Gates

77. “I’m a big skeptic so I won’t just go off what an individual may tell me. I gotta do the research. I’ma get different literature on that one subject and just compare and contrast. I do my own selective studies.” – Kevin Gates

78. “It’s about really really being who you are as an individual and not apologizing for it, that’s what it is. I can feel the growth from my first mixtape to now. On every song, I want to give you a piece of who I am as an individual.” – Kevin Gates

79. “A vision without action is merely a dream. Action, it’s the grind, it’s the hustle, it’s the persistence.” – Kevin Gates

80. “When you come up in the slums, having nothing makes you humble.” Kevin Gates

81. “I’m a bookworm. I know with my physical appearance that I don’t look like the typical reader. I’m in Barnes & Noble all the time, and you can look at people that look like they are supposed to be in there. I am in there, pants sagging, hat backwards.” – Kevin Gates

82. “I’m a perfect imperfection. My craft has been perfected. I just need affection, emotionally. I’m an introvert but it comes off as aggression” – Kevin Gates

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83. “When people say my name, I want them to feel a certain way, everybody walks around so numb. They’re not in touch. In the technological age, we become cold-hearted. I’m going to provoke you to feel. That’s what Islah does.” – Kevin Gates

84. “Struggles that I’m overcoming.” ― Kevin Gates

85. “When you got wisdom and knowledge you supposed to spread the world with some Soulja love.” – Kevin Gates

Thought-provoking Kevin Gates quotes

86. “If I tell the truth about me, what can the world say? I’d love to be accepted, but I’m not seeking acceptance. If you are a fan, it’s because you’re a fan of who I am psychological, emotionally, and individually. The world can relate to a human being more than it can relate to a superstar.” – Kevin Gates

87. “Inspiration comes from many things, and in the life of KG his music is just one of them.” – Kevin Gates

88. “Sometimes the best move is no move.” – Kevin Gates

89. “Having love for your enemy is a hard thing to do, real talk.” – Kevin Gates

90. “Entertainment and the streets don’t go together.” – Kevin Gates

91. “People will flip on you at the drop of a dime. Just be prepared so it doesn’t surprise you.” – Kevin Gates

92. “When trying to destroy you, they Destroy themselves in the process. Fuck em’ — work harder!” – Kevin Gates

93. “Disconnecting from one you love can be a lonely ordeal. The feelings you will experience will change you.” – Kevin Gates

94. “Climbin forward, strivin’, I’m a grinder. Rearview watchin’ what’s behind you: Peripheral, watchin’ what’s on side you.” – Kevin Gates

95. “When you level up your life will change. You will come across harder opponents and situations.” – Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates quotes to motivate you

96. “Everybody around you pretending that they are your partner, let you have a problem they won’t even help you out.” – Kevin Gates

97. “Having a musical outlet is a pure blessing to the ears of thousands of fans.” – Kevin Gates

98. “I’m nowhere close to perfect, of this I’m sure, but God is!” – Kevin Gates

99. “The struggle is real, but it doesn’t last forever.” – Kevin Gates

100. “Ice box where my heart used to be. Eskimo city, no feelings, I’ma igloo.” – Kevin Gates

101. “Watch people daily and you will see their true colors.” – Kevin Gates

102. “Some’ll say life is a gamble, which means love is a casino. Everybody just playin’ to win.” – Kevin Gates

103. “Sometimes you have to let people bump their heads to realize that they are not making sense. Don’t try to figure them out or it will drive you crazy.” – Kevin Gates

104. “Anybody that’s borderline brilliant — they’re gonna suffer with depression. Cause you don’t see the world how other people see the world. You see it for what it is. You see it different.” – Kevin Gates

105. “Don’t stress over people who couldn’t give 2 pennies about you.” – Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates quotes about life

106. “If you go back on your word..I won’t say anything but in my mind you punk for life.” – Kevin Gates

107. “I’m super serious about music. That’s, like, the only thing I’m serious about.” – Kevin Gates

108. “You don’t have to like it but you gotta respect it.” – Kevin Gates

109. “I was always taught not to answer no questions. I’m not really good at answering them because I get agitated so fast.” – Kevin Gates

110. “I don’t get tired..what you tired of.” – Kevin Gates

111. “I’ve just always been a reader.” – Kevin Gates

112. “I love to be clean. I wear the same things, all of my clothes pretty much look the same. I’m a plain and simple type of guy. I don’t really do a lotta busy colors and things of that nature. I feel like less is more.” – Kevin Gates

113. “Life is about conduct and how we conduct ourselves. But two wrongs never make a right.” – Kevin Gates

114. “I always knew who I was, and I always ran from my true purpose… I know what my job is. And I always ran from it.” – Kevin Gates

115. “I don’t want no handouts. I want to get it out the mud.” – Kevin Gates

116. “To be honest I am not lookin to be romantic, already got someone at home.” – Kevin gates

117. “Pray to god someone prays for me.” – Kevin gates

118. “Everytime the leaves are changing it’s the loneliest time of the year.” – Kevin gates

119. “Can you keep up with the lingo.” – Kevin gates

120. “Everybody round you pretendin that they your partner, let you have a problem they won’t even help you out.” – Kevin gates

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More Kevin Gates quotes

121. “I don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.” –Kevin Gates

122. “What I see, what I went through, what a friend of mine may have gone through, whatever – I rap about it.” –Kevin Gates

123. “In 7th grade, I believe, I wrote my first rap song. It was about everything I was seeing, everything that was going on around me.” –Kevin Gates

124. “I don’t just listen to rap.” –Kevin Gates

125. “I don’t is, because I’m a fan of reality, and the rap game’s entertainment.” –Kevin Gates

126. “The energy in the daytime is so different because everyone is so unhappy and depressed, and you can pick up on that energy psychokinetically. So I like to come out at night. Everything’s settled; you can see more.” –Kevin Gates

127. “Sometimes it’s painful to relive the past, but sometimes you gotta relive the past in order to heal from it.” –Kevin Gates

128. “I got it out the mud. Ain’t nobody ever gave me nothing.” –Kevin Gates

129. “One of my most popular songs, ‘Satellites,’ I paid $300 for that beat on SoundClick.” –Kevin Gates

130. “Loyalty is hard to find; trust is easy to lose.” –Kevin Gates

Thought-provoking Kevin Gates quotes

131. “Whatever an individual chooses to do with themselves, long as it doesn’t affect me and they’re respectful with it, I don’t care what they do. Because I’m not perfect and I have flaws, so who would I be to be judgmental?” – Kevin Gates

132. “I have a cult-like following because I exemplify what it is to be a human being.” – Kevin Gates

133. “I love to make music, I love to get tattoos…That’s just what I love. If I wasn’t getting paid I’d still do it.” – Kevin Gates

134. “I’m an introvert somewhat. There could be a room full of people, I’ll go stand in the corner.” – Kevin Gates

135. “Coming up in the streets, I had to learn how to read people early on. I’m a very analytical person. I observe a lot of the things that people don’t notice.” – Kevin Gates

136. “I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I’m just a cold-blooded investigator.” – Kevin Gates

137. “Money coming, money gotta flip it. I ain’t waiting on nobody, I’mma go get it.” – Kevin Gates

138. “I’m never on Twitter. I’m never on Instagram. And that’s not by choice: it’s just that those things never really interested me. I might post a picture here and there, but that ain’t really been my focus.” – Kevin Gates

139. “Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Big L, Tupac. That was, like, my top five, generally.” – Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates Quotes and Lyrics To Encourage You to Be Yourself

140. “Love everything and everybody.” ― Kevin Gates

141. “Don’t mimic pretenders, just be who you are.” ― Kevin Gates

142. “Self made stand up guy.” ― Kevin Gates

143. “And I came up from nothin’ just imagine that.” ― Kevin Gates

144. “Been through a lot of pain in my life.” ― Kevin Gates

145. “You know everyday you grow, everyday you changin’.” ― Kevin Gates

146. “Show me your true colors girl, I just want to see.” ― Kevin Gates

147. “Sometimes yeah sometime I’m in my feelings.” ― Kevin Gates

148. “I’m in a rush, it was nice to meet ya.” ― Kevin Gates

149. “I’m successful and now they love me.” ― Kevin Gates

Which Kevin Gates quotes were your favorite?

Despite enduring hardships in his childhood and facing various legal troubles, Gates has established himself as a top American rapper and singer.

Hopefully, these Kevin Gates quotes have inspired you to live your best life.

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