Kevin Gates says a traumatic experience from his childhood has shaped the way he parents.
During a sit-down with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay, the Grammy-nominated rapper shared that he was sexually abused as a child inside his mother’s home and said he was not believed when he spoke up at the time.
As a result, Gates has made a conscious effort to create a space where his children feel heard and protected.
“And it created the space for me to have with my children to where my children know don’t nobody never touch you that’s not even me. I have these open conversations with my children. They are equipped.”
He added, “I created a space for them to be able to tell their dad anything.”
Gates also explained that his song “Protect Children” helped him revisit that experience through music, bringing unresolved emotions to the surface.
“After I made that song, I ain’t know how much trauma that I was holding. I cried for two weeks uncontrollably. My manager sitting back there, he the one recorded that song. I was in Puerto Rico.”
The musician said he is now in a better place mentally and is at his happiest.
He attributed that happiness to maintaining open communication with those around him, including his children.
“Like I never baby talk with my children. We talk regular. Like my 13-year-old daughter sometimes she be my therapist. I be I just talk to her about anything.”
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Gates recalled a conversation in which his teenage daughter explained that seeing how some of her peers navigate boundaries and seek validation made her appreciate the role of an involved father.
Hearing that, he said, made him reflect on how much children absorb, even when parents may not realize it.
“You don’t think that they be listening and you don’t think that you mean that much. You don’t think you that significant as a father cuz that’s just dad being dad, right?”
Looking back, Gates said fatherhood has been the most transformative force in his life.
“The best thing that ever happened to me. Yeah. My children, my children. They changed me. They made me want to change to be a better father for them.”
