This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Dreka Gates - Kevin Gates' partner in life and business - back to the Upper West Side for her own episode! Dreka discusses her upbringing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, meeting Kevin as a high school senior outside her brother's football game, the phone calls, conversations and intellect they traded as friends before they started dating, the way she responded to his power with words, the heartbreak of her family not wanted the relationship to continue, and the resolve it took to block that out and keep pushing forward with Kevin. We talk about how her selflessness and dedication in helping others led her from pre-med dreams to supporting Kevin's music, how quickly she took to music management, how she saw the road ahead as them against the world, how for a time she dove into the streets to make ends meet, and how together she and Kevin built something lasting and meaningful. Dreka details the independent grind around Louisiana, from the radio stations to the clubs to the local record labels, and how through hard work, putting touring money back into the business, plus a ton of powerful records, they established themselves around the South, attracting attention from major labels, including their future home, Atlantic Records. We get into why they moved their family from Louisiana to Texas to Georgia to Miami and now to Calabasas, whether they're looking to head someplace once again, how they changed their diets, how they raised their children, how they found a balance between work and home life, how it feels to win in the music business on their terms, how Kevin proposed marriage, what it was like to stand before their families and take their wedding vows, and so very much more!!

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