On Jan. 26, Kevin Gates will unveil his latest body of work, The Ceremony, a 17-song effort led by the B.G. and Sexyy Red-assisted “Yonce Freestyle.” On Friday (Jan. 12), he dropped off a new visual from the project for “Birds Calling,” a Starrah and 302-produced drop that sees him cleverly rapping about his unwavering focus on the grind.
“Have you ever tried, then got denied?/ Going to bed, waking up tired/ Time after time/ You on the grind/ It get difficult, no lie/ Breadwinner, bricklayer been my reflection/ Bring in the load, I’ma run off the extra/ I’m who they want, everything I do special/ Get what you want if you from our section/ Whip out the bowl, got a new 911/ Invisible roof reappear in a second/ First I was broke, now the Rollie a present…”
Directed by Diego, the accompanying clip for “Birds Calling” shows Gates hard at work in a kitchen. He can also be spotted in a another room with a woman and stacks of money within view.
The Ceremony will follow 2022’s Khaza, which boasted 19 songs and a single assist from Juicy J on the rehashed standout “Thinkin with My D**k.” That project saw both critical and commercial success, and became Gates’ fifth top 10 on the Billboard 200. Since then, the Baton Rouge talent re-released The Luca Brasi Story in celebration of its 10-year anniversary and contributed to songs like DDG’s “Love Myself,” Finesse2Tymes’ “CEO,” T.I.’s “Active” and NLE Choppa’s “HABITS.” Check out “Birds Calling” and the full tracklisting for The Ceremony below.
The Ceremony tracklist:
- “Ceremony”
- “Birds Calling”
- “Lil Yea”
- “Yonce Freestyle” feat. B.G. and Sexyy Red
- “Eater”
- “Speed Dial”
- “God Slippers”
- “It Won’t Happen”
- “Healing”
- “Letter 2 My Fans”
- “Protect Children”
- “Heal You”
- “Walmart”
- “Do It Again”
- “RUMORS”
- “I Don’t Apologize”
- “Broken Men”