| Mac Dre | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Andre Louis Hicks |
| Also known as | Mac Drizzle, Mac Dreezy, Mac Dregos, Mac Drevious, Thizzelle Washington, Furl, Furly, Mr. Furly, Muhammad Al Boo Boo, Andre Macassi, The Genie of the Lamp, Thizz King, Pill Clinton, Ronald Dregan, The Make it Happen Cap'n, Andre McEnroe, Andre Maccassi, The Thizzard of Oz, The Mac Named Dre, Dre Van Halen, The M.A.C. D.R.E, and Thizzy Marley |
| Born | July 5, 1970 Oakland California, U.S. |
| Origin |
San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S. Vallejo, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 2004 (aged 34) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, West Coast hip hop, hyphy, gangsta rap |
| Occupations | Rapper, record producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1988–1993; 1997–2004 |
| Labels | Thizz Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Andre Nickatina, E-40, Drake, Keak da Sneak, Baby Bash, B-Legit, San Quinn, Yukmouth, PSD, Mac Mall, Richie Rich, Smoov-E (aka Eli Meltzer), Too $hort |
| Website | www.myspace.com/macdre |
Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper, and the initial founder of Thizz Entertainment, and the now defunct Romp Productions.[1][2]
Contents |
Andre Hicks was born in Oakland, California and moved to Vallejo at a young age. In the early 1980s, Hicks began his rap career under the stage name "Mac Dre", and by the middle of the 1990s his music had gained wide-spread popularity throughout the Bay Area thanks in part to the independent music distributor: City Hall Records.[1]
Mac Dre recorded his first three albums between 1989 and 1991.[1] In 1992 Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.[1] At the time Hicks owned the record label, Romp Productions.[1] His many references to "Romper Room" in his songs, bore a similarity the "Romper Room Gang", a group of robbers who had been victimizing banks and pizza parlors in Vallejo. Following allegations by authorities about his membership in the gang, Hicks was sentenced to five years in prison.[3][1] He refused a deal offered by law enforcement authorities that would have required him to inform on other gang members.
In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording the lyrics to songs directly over the Fresno County Jail and Lompoc United States Penitentiary 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.[3]
After his release from prison in 1997, he released Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation. In late 1997 and early 1998 he recorded his album second album "Stupid Doo Doo Dumb". It was released April 28th, 1998. Following those albums, Hicks met with Executive Producer Bernard Gourley and recorded the album Rapper Gone Bad with production help from Tone Cappone, Lev Berlak, and Warren G. This started a new beginning for Mac Dre as he began to release albums steadily, building a huge catalog of music recorded at The Grill Studios in Oakland. In 2000. 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.[3]
He worked with well-known artists such as Keak da Sneak, E-40, B-Legit, Brotha Lynch Hung, Dubee,[4] Mistah Fab,[5] Rydah J. Klyde,[6] Richie Rich,[7] Lil Ric[8] San Quinn, Mars, Yukmouth, PSD, Andre Nickatina, Mac Mall, Smoov-E (aka Eli Meltzer), Messy Marv, and Too Short. He also provided an uncredited hook to the track "Gotta Survive" from Young Lay's Black 'N Dangerous album that featured 2Pac.[9]
On November 1, 2004 Hicks was a passenger in a vehicle driving on a freeway in Kansas City, Missouri when a gunman shot at his vehicle. The driver crashed and was able to get to a phone to call 9-1-1 but Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene from a bullet wound. [10]
Main article: Mac Dre discography