Kevin Gates' climb to the top of hip-hop continues on
By Any Means, his official 2014 mixtape. Boasts that the
Young Money label won't sign him because he's "too violent" ("Wish I Had It") sit next to simple, hooky thug tracks ("Arm & Hammer" arguably being the best), and while that's the standard stuff that's found on mixtapes, from old editions of G-Unit Radio to whatever
the Diplomats crew just issued,
Gates goes above and beyond with the format. The
2 Chainz feature "Bet I'm on It" is a radio-worthy number while tracks like "Movie" (
Frank Ocean-like R&B) and "Posed to Be in Love" (a love song with some
Eminem-sized obsession) are unexpected excellence buried on a stopgap release, all of them making this mixtape quite necessary for fans of
Gates' albums.
Plies,
Doe B, and
Rico Love also lend a hand. ~ David Jeffries