Islah (album)

Islah
Studio album by Kevin Gates
Released	January 29, 2016
Genre	Hip hop
Length	63:18
Label	Bread Winners' Association Atlantic Records
Kevin Gates chronology
Murder For Hire (2015) Islah (2016)
Singles from Islah
"Kno One" Released: July 9, 2015 "La Familia" Released: September 3, 2015 "The Truth" Released: September 3, 2015 "Really Really" Released: October 5, 2015 "2 Phones" Released: November 5, 2015

Islah is the debut studio album by American rapper Kevin Gates. It was released on January 29, 2016, by Bread Winners' Association and Atlantic Records.^[1][2] The album was supported by six singles: "Kno One", "La Familia", "The Truth", "Really Really", "2 Phones" and "Jam".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Consequence of Sound	B[5]
HipHopDX	[6]
Pitchfork Media	8.5/10[7]
Rolling Stone
Spin	8/10
Tiny Mix Tapes

Islah received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average average score of 81 based on 10 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Commercial performance

The album debut at number 2 on the Billboard 200, collecting 112,143 equivalent album units with 90,000 copies sold in the first-week in the United States.^[8]

Singles

His official debut single, titled "Kno One" was released on July 9, 2015. It was produced by IKENNA FuNkEn and The Featherstones.

The album's second single, titled "La Familia" was released on September 3, 2015. The song was produced by Mxllzy. The album's third single, titled "The Truth" was released on September 3, 2015. The song was produced by Rvssian.

The album's fourth single, titled "Really Really" was released on October 5, 2015. The song was produced by Alex Goose, Cook Classics and Jake Troth. The song peaked at number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The album's fifth single, titled "2 Phones" was released on November 5, 2015. It was produced by Mad Max. The song was Gates first top 40 hit, peaking at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Promotional singles

The album's promotional single, titled "Excuse Me" was released on January 29, 2016. The song was produced by Ray Real.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Not the Only One"	Kevin Gilyard Kevin Price Jan "Dreamlife Beats" Branicki	Go Grizzly Dreamlife Beats	4:41
2.	"Really Really"	Gilyard Alex Goose William Lobban-Bean Jake Troth	Goose Cook Classics Troth	3:52
3.	"2 Phones"	Gilyard Brittany "Starrah" Hazzard Rick Witherspoon, Jr.	Mad Max	4:00
4.	"Pride"	Gilyard Patrick Carmelo Matthew Paisley-Mallia	Carmelo	4:05
5.	"La Familia"	Gilyard Jamil "Millz" Alleyne Theron Thomas Timothy Thomas	Millz	3:50
6.	"Time for That"	Gilyard Norman "DJ Chose" Payne Steve "Swiff D" Thornton	Swiff D Nick Seeley (add.)	3:28
7.	"Thought I Heard (Bread Winners’ Anthem)"	Gilyard Payne	DJ Chose	3:24
8.	"Hard For"	Gilyard Earl Hood Eric "E" Goudy III Richard Butler, Jr.	Earl & E Rico Love Nick Seeley	4:06
9.	"Ask for More"	Gilyard Norris Buchanan Richard Norris	Buchanan	3:27
10.	"One Thing"	Gilyard David "D.A." Doman Jim Stewart	David D.A. Doman	3:19
11.	"The Truth"	Gilyard Tarik "Rvssian" Johnston	Rvssian	3:30
12.	"Kno One"	Gilyard Marlin "Hookman" Bonds Ikenna "IKENNA FuNkEn" Udemba Justin Featherstone Christopher Featherstone William Featherstone Matthew Featherstone	IKENNA FuNkEn The Featherstones	3:34
13.	"Told Me"	Gilyard Alleyne	Millz	3:04
14.	"Ain't Too Hard"	Gilyard Hood Goudy III Payne	Earl & E	3:25
15.	"I Love It"	Gilyard Donny "Drop" Flores Adrian "Phe" Santalla	Drop Phe	3:31

Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Jam [9]" (featuring Trey Songz, Ty Dolla $ign and Jamie Foxx)	Gilyard Tremaine Neverson Tyrone Griffin, Jr. Eric Bishop Micah Powell Belinda Lipscomb Boaz Watson Kenneth Edmonds	Powell	3:34
17.	"Excuse Me [10]"	Gilyard Paris Jones Reynard Tarleton	Ray Real	4:37
Total length:				68:10

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11]	16
US Billboard 200[12]	2

References

1. Baker, Soren (November 6, 2015). "Kevin Gates "Islah" Updated Release Date & Cover Art". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
2. "'Islah' - Kevin Gates". iTunes. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
3. "islah Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
4. "Kevin Gates - Islah". Allmusic. February 5, 2016.
5. "Kevin Gates - Islah". Consequence of Sound. January 26, 2016.
6. "Kevin Gates - Islah". HipHopDX. February 3, 2016.
7. Jayson Greene (February 4, 2016). "Kevin Gates: Islah". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
8. Caulfield, Keith (February 7, 2016). "Rihanna's 'Anti' Rules at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
9. "iTunes - Music - Jam - Single by Kevin Gates". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
10. "iTunes - Music - Excuse Me - Single by Kevin Gates". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
11. "Kevin Gates – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Kevin Gates. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
12. "Kevin Gates – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Kevin Gates. Retrieved February 9, 2016.