Mac Dre

Andre Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name, Mac Dre, was a Bay Area-based rapper from Vallejo, California. He is considered one of the predecessors of the hyphy music movement. During his career in the rap world, he worked with artists like Yukmouth, B-Legit, MC Hammer, Mac Mall, E-40, Andre Nickatina and Keak Da Sneak.

Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California. As a child Andre was moved to and raised in Vallejo, California by his mother to get him out of the mean streets of Oakland. His lyrics were largely based on his notorious North Vallejo neighborhood known as "The Crest". His music gained popularity in the early to mid 1990s throughout the Bay Area, eventually receiving national recognition through his independent record labels Romp and Thizz Entertainment. During his music career, he released many hit singles, such as "Too Hard for the Fuckin' Radio", and most recently "Feelin' Myself". His music continues to be released posthumously. He was the creator of the "Thizzle Dance", a popular dance which holds no specific standard. Hardship and controversy were staples of Mac Dre's career. After recording his first three albums between 1989 and 1991, Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. His record label, Romp Productions, and his many references to "Romper Room" in his songs, coincided with a Vallejo robbery gang of the time calling themselves the "Romper Room Gang" and responsible for the robberies of many area banks and pizza parlours. Hicks was alleged to be a member of the gang. The rapper was sentenced to five years in prison in 1992.

In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording the lyrics to songs directly over the Fresno County jail inmate telephone. His album, Young Black Brotha, was a result of such efforts, as well as guest appearances on fellow artists' songs, all while Hicks was still imprisoned. A later album, Back 'N Da Hood, was also made up of these prison-recorded songs.

After his release from prison in 1996, Mac Dre began releasing albums steadily, building pace in the early 21st century. Mac Dre's audience was growing, and mainstream hip-hop stations were beginning to give Hicks' music more airtime. Hicks relocated to Sacramento, California in 2001, where he began a label, Thizz Entertainment. A notorious ecstasy enthusiast, he is credited with coining the slang verb to thizz, which refers to the state of being high on the drug. He is the foremost precursor of the current Hyphy movement, a hip hop subculture based around ecstasy use, club drugs, and "feel good" music in general.

A common theme in Mac Dre songs is his reputation as a "mac" or a man that women would actually pay to have sex with them. Songs like "How I Got This Name", "Stupid Doo Doo Dumb" and "Feelin' Myself" all make references to this aspect of his life. Some lyrics referring to this are "Every b**** I d***ed down, had to kick down" and "So I flipped the script and stopped f***in' for free"

On November 1, 2004, Mac Dre was shot to death while returning to his hotel after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri. A car pulled up next to the white van carrying Dre. Though it is not known whether words were exchanged, the ordeal ended in bloodshed. The van swerved off the road and into a ravine where it ran into a tree. Mac Dre apparently died from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, although Dre was thrown from the vehicle and wasn't found immediately after the accident. In 2005 due to a large amount of suspicion, Kansas City rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins was murdered in Las Vegas, allegedly by Bay Area rapper Mac Minister, in retaliation for Hicks' death. In March 2006, Mac Minister was arrested by FBI officials.

On the weekend of the August 26, 2006, Hicks' tombstone was stolen from his final resting place at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. AP.9, a rapper who was close to Hicks offered a $10,000 reward out of his own pocket for anyone who had any information on the location of the tombstone. AP.9 stated that he believed the theft was an isolated incident, and nobody involved with Hicks' murder was responsible. The tombstone has since been replaced.