Kevin Gates Pens Letter From Prison, Debuts 'What If' Video

Kevin Gates might be locked up, but that isn’t stopping him from releasing new work. The incarcerated rapper offers a new video for his single “What If” that comes along with a handwritten letter from behind bars.

“Disallow yourselves to be troubled in my time of absence,” writes Gates in the letter. “All of the great ones who came before and will come after me have had to go through this. By this, I’m speaking in reference to hardship.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYtinZ5BI6R/

To go along with this dedication, the Baton Rouge MC releases the video for “What If,” which was shot in his hometown. The clip features children who are waiting for their mother to return from the grocery store and several men who stand up to a police officer who has his gun pointed at a young black man.

With its nod to Joan Osborne’s 1995 single, “One Of Us,” “What If” was originally released in April, shortly before Gates was sentenced to 30 months for gun possession. The month prior, he was in jail on weapons charges and before that, he was sentenced to six months behind bars for kicking a fan.