Kevin Gates - By Any Means 2

Kevin Gates
By Any Means 2
2017
Spotify

At the time this mixtape came out Kevin Gates was in jail. That's why the albums opener "No Love" talks about the song coming from "behind the bars". He'll likely be in jail for some time to come due to an outstanding warrant and gun charge, not to mention his controversial comments about sleeping with his cousin for two years. All the good will that Gates garnered on Islah seemed to have evaporated and He has almost had to start from scratch. The Baton Rouge rapper still manages to carve out some pretty decent songs but this album really suffers from feeling very one note. Each track is almost exactly like the last; somewhat ominous beat, trap drums and Gates outlining his "struggle". It's a style that has served him well but on this mixtape it just feels stale. "Beautiful Scars" about appreciating the bad times as well as the good is a nice message but comes across so corny. It's hard to take someone seriously who in the same song claims to be such a badass but then almost croons a love song. Gates has a really specific delivery and you realize on this album it needs just the right beat to fully connect. When the beat is just ok Gates can't save it, verbally or stylistically and many of the tracks on By Any Means 2 just aren't good enough. This record feels much more confessional than it does a bunch of bangers, which makes sense for someone trying to mentally prepare for jail.

"Do U Down" or as it should be titled "Dick U Down" because that is the actual chorus just feels like this totally clunky overly sexual song. I have no problem with a track dripping with sex, but when it's flagrant and uninspired it feels so cringe. It doesn't get much better as the album progresses, and actually makes it tough to describe because it is pretty much the same the whole way through. "Imagine That" is almost an anthem of self empowerment which again is a nice message but feels out of place coming from Gates. It's nice to hear that Gates is still putting out music and likely will have another released before he is... well... released but who knows if He will ever reach the heights he did on Islah.

4.0 out of 10