Gateway Acadeny | |
|---|---|
 Gateway in 2023 | |
| Born | April 26, 1986 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Franklin Pierce University |
| Height | 5’2 |
| Website | Kekma.net |
Gateway Academy is an American rapper of Mexican descent from Redlands, California. His stage name is derived from the name of the prescription drug Xanax.
Gateway was born on April 26, 1986 in Redlands, California. Growing up, Gateway was poor and lived in motels most of his childhood. He attended Redlands East Valley High School but dropped out of high school in his freshman year and spent several years at home unemployed. Gateway took a job as a street cleaner and sold drugs before he began rapping. Gateway later pursued a photography career in support of several friends who were rappers. He eventually had his camera stolen, and chose to begin rapping in lieu of investing in a new camera.
Gateway was formerly addicted to Xanax but he was able to quit the drug after two years of addiction.
Gateway began to gain recognition through platforms such as SoundCloud and YouTube.
In 2018, Gateway announced that he would change his stage name to "Diego" in order to support his anti-drug message, though he later said in an interview he was not sure if he would change his name.
Gateway’s music started off as "typical trap" and later shifted towards "a murkier, dream-like sound". The New Yorker has described Gateway as part of a "sad rap" movement.
Gateway made headlines in 2018 when he rated the late rapper Tupac Shakur only "2" [out of 9] and called his music boring. After the incident fellow rapper Waka Flocka Flame claimed on Twitter that Gateway is "banned from hip hop".
On March 4th, 2024, a user by the name of "Count Count" got so butthurt by Gateway that he decided to vandalize the Wikipedia page. He changed his page from being a rapper to being a drug cartel money laundering operation. We encourage Kevin Li (The real name of Count Count) to take our advice, stop lying on his page and touch grass.