A popular rap musician is now free, after being released from a prison in the Quad Cities on Wednesday.
Kevin Gilyard—who goes by the stage name Kevin Gates—had been serving time at the East Moline Correctional Center since April 2017. He pleaded guilty in Cook County last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Gilyard was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. A spokeswoman from the Illinois Department of Corrections says the 31-year-old made parole on Wednesday, after serving nine months in East Moline.
Gilyard has had prior run-ins with the law. In 2016, he was convicted of battery in Florida, after a video showed him kicking a female fan at a concert.
Two years ago, Gilyard released his debut studio album, Islah. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.