Kevin Gates GIF

Submission 1,063

Part of a series on Kevin Gates, Rick Ross and Mike Epps Emotes. [View Related Entries]

About

The Kevin Gates GIF, also known as the Kevin Gates Emote, refers to a GIF of rapper Kevin Gates dancing, flexing and pointing at himself in front of a moving red and white train while wearing a black t-shirt, backward baseball cap and gold chains. Gates is also shown pounding his chest and thrusting both elbows down, doing a double fist pump. The GIF was sourced from the music video for his song "RBS Intro," filmed in the Netherlands. The Kevin Gates GIF was frequently spammed in Instagram comment sections starting in 2024. The reaction GIF then spread on Twitter / X and was referenced in viral TikTok meme videos. The Kevin Gates GIF was often referenced alongside the Mike Epps GIF and the Rick Ross Dancing GIF. All three GIFs were compared and powerscaled in referential content.

Origin

On September 26th, 2019, Kevin Gates uploaded the music video "RBS Intro" to YouTube,^[1] gaining over 33.9 million views and 239,000 likes in five years. At the video's 0:18-minute mark (shown below), Gates is seen on train platform, pounding his chest, flexing his bicep and pointing at himself with his thumb. Shortly after, a similar shot shows Gates double-pumping with his fists.

On September 30th, 2019, Kevin Gates' verified Giphy^[2]^[3] account posted two GIFs of the abovementioned scenes (shown below). Over five years, each GIF received over 69.3 million views and 42.3 million views, respectively.

In May 2023, Instagram implemented GIF comments on the platform, directly sourced from Giphy's database.^[4]

The Kevin Gates GIF amassed usage within Instagram comment sections sometime in early 2024. It's currently unknown which viral Instagram comment started the trend. Currently, the earliest discovered comment with the GIF was shared some time in early February on a Kevin Gates meme shared by Instagram^[8] user @bruno_the_meme (shown below).

Spread

On March 16th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @joefromyoutube posted a video reading, "POV: You're that one Kevin Gates Gif," gaining over 344,200 plays and 48,400 likes in three months (shown below).

On April 28th, 2024, X^[7] user @best_mane5 tweeted, "i be hitting the kevin gates gif randomly thru the day," gaining over 590 likes in two months (shown below).

On May 24th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @vaunsei posted a video of himself recreating the Kevin Gates GIFs, receiving roughly 95,500 plays and 16,400 likes in a month (shown below, left).

On June 17th, TikToker^[10] @kcohen posted the Kevin Gates GIF captioned, "Your so handsome," receiving over 104,700 plays and 5,300 likes in 11 days (shown below, right).

On June 13th, 2024, X^[5] user @LeanandCuisine tweeted, "That gif of Kevin gates cycling his arms and then flexing be killing me bruh idk why," amassing over 52,000 likes in 15 days (shown below).

Rick Ross Dancing

Rick Ross Dancing, also known as the Rick Ross GIF, Rick Ross Emote or Rick Ross Walk, refers to a viral video and GIF of rapper Rick Ross dancing in a pink polo shirt, a backward black baseball cap and a gold watch in a studio with friends. His dance resembles running or jogging while slowly moving sideways. The original video was posted to Instagram in 2019 by fellow rapper Drewboy. Rick Ross Dancing became a reaction GIF online in the 2020s. In mid-2024, the Rick Ross Dancing GIF was referenced in viral TikTok videos alongside the Kevin Gates GIF and Mike Epps GIF, forming the so-called Big 3 Emotes.

Mike Epps GIF

The Mike Epps GIF, also known as Mike Epps Dancing or the Mike Epps Emote, refers to a reaction GIF of comedian Mike Epps dancing in a blue suit and glasses with a group of people wearing all white, sourced from rapper Kendrick Lamar's "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" music video. The Mike Epps GIF became a TikTok meme in mid-2024, along with The Big 3 Emotes including the Kevin Gates GIF and Rick Ross Dancing. They were portrayed as adversarial video game emotes in memes.