Background information | |
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Birth name | Andre Louis Hicks |
Born | July 5, 1970 Oakland, California, U.S. |
Origin | Vallejo, California, U.S. |
Died | November 1, 2004 (aged 34) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1984–2004 |
Labels | Thizz |
Associated acts | |
Website | www.legendofthebay.com |
Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known by his stage nameMac Dre, was an American rapper and record producer from Vallejo, California.[1][2] He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement in the Bay Areahip hop scene that emerged in the early 2000s.[3] Hicks is considered one of the movement's key pioneers that fueled its popularity into mainstream, releasing songs with fast-paced rhymes and basslines that inspired a new style of dance.[3] As the founder of the independent record label Thizz Entertainment, Hicks recorded dozens of albums and gave aspiring rappers an outlet to release albums locally.[4]
On November 1, 2004, Hicks was killed by an unknown assailant after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri,[5] a case that remains unsolved.[6]
Andre Louis Hicks was born in Oakland, California on July 5, 1970 to Allen Hickes and Wanda Salvatto. They then moved to the Vallejo area. He would often frequent the Country Club Crest neighborhood, known locally as The Crest. In 1989, the outgoing Hicks made waves with a cassette tape featuring the single, 'Too Hard for the F---in' Radio' while still a student at Vallejo's Hogan High School. In 2013 NPR noted his sound as being 'fast and confident' further writing that 'he built upon the bouncy bass that had its roots in the funk era.'[7] When asked about his childhood, Hicks stated that 'Situations came out for the better most of them, I went through the little trials and the shit that I went through.'[8] Hicks first adopted the stage name MC Dre in 1984, but altered it to Mac Dre the following year because he considered that the name sounded 'too East Coast-ish'.[9] Hicks recorded his first three EPs as Mac Dre between 1988 and 1992.[1]
About Mac Dre Presents Thizz Nation Vol. Mac Dre Presents Thizz Nation Vol. 4 is an English album released in 2005. There are a total of 26 songs in Mac Dre Presents Thizz Nation Vol. The songs were composed by talented musicians such as Mac Dre Presents Mob Figaz, San Quinn, Mac Mall, and more. Mac Dre Discography Download Hot Door Cadtools 12 1 1 Cr3 Download Free Horton C2150 Controller Programming Manual Latest Scrivener 2.5 Crack Mac Full Version 2016 How To Expand Ship In Starbound Screens 4 6 9 Inch Clip Studio Paint Ex 1 9 7 Car Drawing Game Download Disk Drill Pro Enterprise 2 4 415 Download Free. Album: Genie Of The Lamp(feat P.S.D & Dubee) it's a hidden track on the album THIZZ OR DIE BAY SHIT!!!
The city of Vallejo began experiencing a surge in bank robberies in the early 90s.[10] Vallejo police began focusing on the Crest Neighborhood as a source of the crime. Hicks was vocal about the actions he saw being taken by the police and incorporated their aggressive surveillance of residents into his music. Hicks claimed he was rapping about attempts to 'wake up the neighbors.'[11] As gangster rap music consistently grew in popularity, law enforcement officials began examining the lyrics of local rappers to utilize as evidence in criminal matters.[12]
On March 26, 1992, at age 21, Hicks was invited by friends to a road trip to Fresno. Hicks had performed in that city two weeks prior and decided to go on the trip so that he could re-visit a woman he knew there. While driving back to Vallejo, the car was circumvented by the FBI, Fresno, and Vallejo police. The police verbalized that while Hicks was at a motel, his friends were allegedly casing a bank but had changed their mind when they saw a local Fresno TV News van in the bank's parking lot.[13]When questioned by the police, Hicks verbalized that he didn't leave the hotel, therefore did not know anything. The police subsequently charged him with conspiracy to commit robbery, although no bank robbery was conducted and Hicks was neither with his friends nor near the location of the purported bank.[14]He was sentenced to five years in federal prison after he refused a plea deal for the conspiracy charge.[15] The trial was later listed among Complex Magazine's 30 Biggest Criminal Trials in Rap History.[16] At the time of his conviction, Hicks owned the record label Romp Productions.[1] Hicks was released a year early from prison for good behavior on August 2, 1996, after serving four years.[1] It was during his time in prison that Hicks developed a 'better appreciation for freedom, life, fun.'[17]
After his release from Lompoc Prison,[18] Hicks wanted to begin creating music that was easy to dance to. He and longtime friend and fellow rapper Troy Reddick, a.k.a. Da'unda'Dogg, decided to try a different approach. The duo recorded several songs to pitch to major record labels. One song was sent to various West-Coast-based representatives of the well-known Oakland rapper Too Short for an upcoming compilation, Nationwide: Independence Day, but was never selected, and it is unknown if the song ever made it to Too Short.
In 1998, Hicks relocated to the Arden-Arcade area of Sacramento, distancing himself from the eyes of Vallejo law enforcement, founding a new label, Thizz Entertainment, now managed by Hicks' mother Wanda Salvatto.[17] In 2000, Hicks' change in sound became influential in the Hyphy Movement.[17] Hicks continued releasing multiple independent albums until his death. In 2019, Grammy-winning Atlanta rapper and multi-platinum producer Lil Jon, with the blessing of Hicks' mother, would incorporate the same vocals in the single 'Ain't No Tellin' and release through Geffen Records.[19] Ironically, Lil Jon's 1998 debut to the Bay Area was through a song on the same Too Short compilation. Reddick, in a statement to Complex Magazine, stated, 'Of all the vocals Jon got, he picked some from the record Dre wrote to be released by a major label, and 23 years later Lil Jon has completed his goal!' [19]
After Hicks and other Thizz Entertainment members had performed a show in Kansas City, Missouri on October 31, 2004, an unidentified gunman shot at the group's van as it traveled on U.S. Route 71 in the early morning hours of November 1. The van's driver crashed and called 9-1-1, but Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene from a bullet wound to the neck.[20] It was often rumored that rapper Anthony 'Fat Tone' Watkins was responsible for the death of Hicks, but no evidence has ever surfaced and authorities never found the actual suspect that shot him. Watkins was murdered the following year.[21] Upon Hicks's death and at his written direction, his mother, Wanda Salvatto, (affectionally known as 'Mac Wanda') became owner and CEO.
His funeral took place on November 9, 2004 at the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church.[22] He was given a public open casket viewing. He was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.[23]
But no one touched the Bay area like Vallejo's Mac Dre. Responsible for recording dozens of records, unearthing new local talent, building a rap empire, and pioneering a whole new homegrown counterculture, Mac Dreezy changed the landscape of the Bay Area forever and earned legendary status among Bay Area locals.