Khaza Gates, whose name is sometimes searched online as Khaza Kamil Gates, is the son of rapper Kevin Gates and his ex-wife, Dreka Gates. Khaza was born in 2014, two years after his older sister Islah, and his name became publicly known in part because his father later titled a 2022 studio album after him, a gesture that brought renewed attention to the family beyond Kevin Gates’ music career alone.
This article looks at what is known about Khaza Gates within the context of his parents’ public lives, since as a minor his own personal life is not something this article speculates about. It also traces Kevin Gates’ career as a rapper and his relationship with Dreka Gates, since so much of the public interest in Khaza comes from his connection to two prominent figures within the hip hop industry. Readers interested in other family members connected to well known public figures may also want to read about Kate McKinnon’s sister and Hayden Panettiere’s father.
Quick Bio Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Commonly Searched Name | Khaza Kamil Gates |
| Father | Kevin Gates, rapper |
| Mother | Dreka Gates, entrepreneur and media personality |
| Born | 2014 |
| Sibling | Islah Gates, born 2012 |
| Parents Married | October 2015 |
| Parents Divorced | July 2025 |
A Note on His Name
Although the middle name “Kamil” appears across a number of content sites discussing Khaza, this specific detail does not appear in any primary source, such as Kevin Gates’ or Dreka Gates’ own public statements or reliable music press coverage. This article uses the name Khaza Gates, which is well documented, while noting that the additional middle name circulating online has not been independently verified.
This kind of unverified detail appearing across secondary websites illustrates how specific but unconfirmed additions can spread widely once repeated across enough content sites, even when the underlying person and family connection are genuinely real and well documented in mainstream music press coverage.
His Parents, Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates
Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates, whose relationship predates their October 2015 marriage, have two publicly known children together, daughter Islah, born in 2012, and son Khaza, born in 2014. The couple divorced in July 2025 after nearly a decade of marriage, a development covered by mainstream music press outlets, including Revolt.tv, given Kevin Gates’ prominence within the hip hop industry.
Because Khaza is a minor, this article limits its discussion of him to these confirmed facts about his parentage and birth year, deliberately avoiding any speculation about his personal life, education, or interests beyond what his parents have already chosen to share publicly themselves.
The Album Named in His Honor
In 2022, Kevin Gates released a studio album titled Khaza, widely understood within music press coverage to be a tribute to his son, following the same pattern he had used years earlier with his 2016 album Islah, named after his daughter. This gesture reflects how prominently Kevin Gates has incorporated his family into his public artistic work throughout his career, choosing to memorialize his children through his music rather than through more conventional public statements.
This pattern of naming major creative projects after his children illustrates how central Kevin Gates has made his family to his public persona as an artist, giving both of his children a distinctive and lasting place within his body of work even as he has otherwise kept most specific details about their day to day lives entirely private.
Kevin Gates’ Public Statements About Fatherhood
Kevin Gates has discussed fatherhood in interviews throughout his career, describing the responsibility of raising his children as a significant influence on his music and his personal outlook. He has also stated in past interviews that he has children beyond those he shares publicly with Dreka, though only Islah and Khaza have been consistently identified by name in mainstream coverage.
This willingness from Kevin Gates to discuss fatherhood generally, while still maintaining boundaries around his children’s day to day lives, reflects a common balance struck by public figures who want to acknowledge their family’s importance without exposing their children to excessive public scrutiny during such formative and impressionable years.
Kevin Gates’ Career as a Rapper
Kevin Gates built his career as a rapper beginning in the late 2000s, achieving mainstream breakthrough success with his 2016 debut studio album Islah, which reached the top five of the Billboard 200 chart and included some of his most commercially successful singles. He has continued releasing music consistently in the years since, building a dedicated fan base known for engaging deeply with his candid and often introspective lyrical style.
This sustained and commercially successful music career, unfolding throughout Khaza’s entire childhood, has meant that Khaza has grown up as the son of one of hip hop’s more consistently active and critically discussed artists, a status that has kept the family within the public eye for well over a decade.
Dreka Gates’ Career and Public Profile
Dreka Gates has built her own public profile as an entrepreneur and media personality, working alongside Kevin Gates in managing aspects of his career while also developing her own business ventures and social media presence. Her role within the family’s public life has extended beyond simply being Kevin Gates’ former wife, giving her an independent public identity connected to but distinct from his music career.
This independent public profile, developed alongside her role as Khaza’s mother, illustrates how both of Khaza’s parents have built recognizable public identities within the entertainment industry, even as they have kept most specific details about their children’s lives out of the public record.
The Gates Family’s Public Life
Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates have periodically shared glimpses of their family life through interviews and social media throughout the years of their marriage, offering fans occasional insight into their household even as they have generally kept detailed information about their children’s daily lives private. This selective public sharing has meant that most of what the public knows about Khaza comes through these limited, carefully chosen moments rather than through any extensive media coverage of him directly.
This pattern of selective sharing, balancing public interest in a well known musical family with a desire to protect the children’s privacy, reflects a deliberate approach taken by Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates throughout their years of marriage and one that has continued in the period following their 2025 divorce.
Kevin Gates’ Breakthrough With Islah
Kevin Gates’ 2016 debut studio album, Islah, named after his daughter, marked his commercial breakthrough, debuting near the top of the Billboard 200 chart and featuring some of his most streamed and recognized songs to date. This early commercial success established the pattern he would later repeat with Khaza, using his children’s names to title major creative projects throughout his recording career.
This breakthrough album, arriving two years after Khaza’s birth, set the stage for Kevin Gates’ continued commercial success throughout the years that followed, a period during which Khaza grew up as the son of an increasingly prominent recording artist.
Kevin Gates’ Legal History and Public Discussions
Kevin Gates has discussed past legal issues in interviews throughout his career, including periods of incarceration that occurred during Khaza’s early childhood, experiences he has said significantly shaped his perspective as both an artist and a father. His willingness to discuss these experiences candidly in interviews and in his music has become a defining feature of his public persona within the hip hop industry.
This candor about his own past, shared consistently throughout his career, has meant that Kevin Gates’ public identity as a father has always been discussed alongside his broader personal history, offering useful context for how he has approached raising Khaza and his other children over the years.
Dreka Gates’ Role in the Family Business
Beyond her role as Khaza’s mother, Dreka Gates has been closely involved in managing aspects of Kevin Gates’ music career, including business and social media strategy, a partnership that extended well beyond their personal relationship throughout their marriage. This professional collaboration between the two, sustained even after their 2025 divorce in various capacities, reflects how intertwined their personal and professional lives became during the years they were raising Khaza and Islah together.
This blending of family life and career management illustrates how Khaza grew up within a household where his parents’ personal relationship and professional partnership were closely connected, a dynamic that shaped the family’s public presence throughout his entire childhood and adolescence.
How Fans Learned About Khaza
Most public awareness of Khaza comes through Kevin Gates’ own music, interviews, and social media posts rather than through any independent coverage of Khaza himself, consistent with how his parents have generally handled public information about their children. This pattern reflects a deliberate approach by Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates to share select family moments through their own platforms while limiting broader media access to their children’s daily lives.
This reliance on the parents’ own public sharing, rather than independent reporting, has meant that nearly everything known about Khaza traces directly back to choices his parents have made about what to share, a pattern common among children of musicians who wish to protect their kids from excessive public exposure while their careers remain firmly in the national spotlight.
Why People Still Search for His Name
Interest in Khaza Gates comes almost entirely from fans of Kevin Gates following his music career, particularly after the release of the 2022 album bearing his name, which drew renewed attention to the family beyond Kevin Gates’ broader discography. Because Kevin Gates remains an active and commercially successful recording artist, questions about his family, including his son, continue to surface among fans researching his complete body of work.
Because Khaza is still a minor whose parents have deliberately limited public information about his daily life, most of what people can find about him traces back to coverage of the 2022 album and general reporting on his parents’ relationship rather than to any independent profile of his own.
Conclusion
Khaza Gates, sometimes searched as Khaza Kamil Gates, is the son of rapper Kevin Gates and his ex-wife Dreka Gates, born in 2014 and later honored with his own named studio album in 2022, following the same tribute his father paid his older sister Islah years earlier with his breakthrough debut record. As a minor, his own personal story remains appropriately private, known mainly through his parents’ public careers and their occasional, carefully chosen public statements about their family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Khaza Kamil Gates?
Khaza Gates is the son of rapper Kevin Gates and his ex-wife, Dreka Gates.
When was Khaza Gates born?
He was born in 2014.
Does Khaza Gates have siblings?
Yes. He has an older sister, Islah, born in 2012.
Why did Kevin Gates name an album after Khaza?
Kevin Gates released a 2022 studio album titled Khaza, following the same tribute pattern he used with his 2016 album Islah, named after his daughter.
Are Kevin Gates and Dreka Gates still married?
No. The couple divorced in July 2025 after marrying in October 2015.
