Khaza

Part of what made Kevin Gates’ 2016 breakthrough, Islah, appealing is how complete his personality felt. Crass, humble, loving, violent, and introspective, he’s the kind of guy who rapped about giggling over his lover’s feet one minute (yes, “giggling,” on “Pride”) and how the good thing about getting rich is that you can pay other people to murder for you the next (“One Thing”). Khaza is something like Islah’s spiritual successor. He’s a devoted Muslim (“Intro”) terrorized by his libido (“Thinking With My Dick”), a reformed hustler still drawn in by—what else—sex, money, and sex and money at the same time (“PTOE”). And while the hooks are pop (“I’m In Love,” “Bad for Me”), the mentality is street. He doesn’t like talking about violence anymore, he says at the beginning of “Steppin’”—and proceeds to spend two ferocious minutes doing just that.