Lil Wayne: Rapper Is An ‘Inspiration’ To Kevin Gates

Lil Wayne was apparently an inspiration to Young Money rapper Kevin Gates.

Regardless of what folks might say about Weezy’s unique brand of music, the guy works harder in one day than some people do in a month. Even when he’s not putting together material for his own albums, Lil Wayne is helping other rappers get their own projects off the ground. One person who thinks very highly of the rapper is Kevin Gates.

According to XXL, the guy had nothing but overwhelmingly positive things to say about Lil Wayne and his abilities in the studio. While it’s rare for an artist to badmouth one of the fellas who ultimately signs his checks, this is no reason to think that Kevin’s comments are completely disingenuous.

Gates told VladTV about Lil Wayne:

“Even [Lil Wayne] too, he’s more of a mentor…. He gave me a different approach with music. I used to sit in there and watch him. Let me tell you something about Tunechi—about that boy. That boy comes to the studio everyday and grind as if he doesn’t have a dollar in his pocket. He comes to that studio everyday and grind as if he doesn’t have a dollar in his pocket. You know, when I saw that—this the game?—he told me, ‘all you gotta do is grind,’ Grind.”

According to the San Antonio Current, Kevin Gates started out by releasing a handful of mixtapes a few years ago. After spending some time in jail, the rapper set to work on some new tunes. Before long, Gates’ musical endeavors caught the attention of Lil Wayne and Young Money Records.

Kevin said he felt that signing with the label was his destiny:

“I was supposed to sign to Young Money. I was supposed to. When I sat around Birdman…. When you sit around Birdman, Birdman gonna give you the real. Man, look, I’ve been doing this for over 20 yearrs. I got us out of the hood doing this. So I just wanted my own brand. Once I saw how he did it. He just inspired me.”

Lil Wayne fans will get to experience the guy’s incredible work ethic when he hits the road with Drake later this year. Hopefully the rapper will finally drop his long-awaited record Tha Carter V before the tour gets underway.

Are you surprised that Lil Wayne was an inspiration to Kevin Gates?

[Lead Image via Bing]