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==Career==
==Career==
Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California and raised in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]]. 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.<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MAC+DRE&sql=11:zoke4j270waq~T2</ref> He was the creator of the "[[Thizzle]] Dance", a popular dance which holds no specific standard.
Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California and raised in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]]. 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.<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MAC+DRE&sql=11:zoke4j270waq~T2</ref> He was the creator of the "[[Thizzle]] Dance", a popular dance which holds no specific standard.
Hardship and controversy were <!--To whomever keeps changing the word "were" before this comment to "has been": Mac Dre is dead, that's why the article uses the past tense.--> staples of Mac Dre's career. After recording his first three albums between [[1989]] and [[1991]], Mac 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.<ref>"Police say Hicks was once part of Vallejo's northside Romper Room Gang, which was suspected of committing a series of bank robberies and pizza parlor stickups in the early 1990s." {{cite news
Hardship and controversy were <!--To whomever keeps changing the word "were" before this comment to "has been": Mac Dre is dead, that's why the article uses the past tense.--> 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.<ref>"Police say Hicks was once part of Vallejo's northside Romper Room Gang, which was suspected of committing a series of bank robberies and pizza parlor stickups in the early 1990s." {{cite news
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Revision as of 10:46, 6 November 2006

Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Andre Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name, Mac Dre, was Bay Area-based gangsta rapper who was based in 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, Mac Mall, and Keak Da Sneak.[1]

Career

Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California and raised in Vallejo, California. 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.[2] 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.[3] 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 was one of the precursors of the current Thizz movement, a hip hop subculture based around ecstasy use, club drugs, and "feel good" music in general. [4]

Death

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. Whether words were exchanged or not, the ordeal ended in the bloodshed of a Bay Area rap legend. 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.[5][6] It was rumored that Mac Dre's killer was Kansas City rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins. In 2005, Watkins was murdered, allegedly by Bay Area rapper Mac Minister, in retaliation for Hicks' death. In March 2006, Mac Minister was arrested by FBI officials.[7]

On the weekend of the August 26 2006, Hicks' tombstone was stolen from his final resting place. AP9, a rapper who was close to Hicks offered a 10,000 USD reward out of his own pocket for anyone who had any information on the location of the tombstone. AP9 stated that he believes the theft was an isolated incident, and nobody involved with Hicks' murder was responsible. [8]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Caples, Garrett (2005-11-16). "Nation of Thizzlam: Mac Dre's Thizz label undergoes a rebirth". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MAC+DRE&sql=11:zoke4j270waq~T2
  3. ^ "Police say Hicks was once part of Vallejo's northside Romper Room Gang, which was suspected of committing a series of bank robberies and pizza parlor stickups in the early 1990s." Bulwa, Demian (2004-11-02). "Rapper Mac Dre slain in Kansas City". San Francisco Chronicle. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Feelin' Their Thizzle". SF Weekly. March 15, 2006.
  5. ^ "Snapp said Hicks 'probably died instantly' from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, though that's uncertain because he wasn't found immediately after the shooting. 'The van went over an embankment and into a ravine, and Hicks was ejected from the van,' Snapp said. 'His associate couldn't find him in the dark, and walked to get help. When they came back, they found him deceased.'" from Raskin-Zrihen, Rachel (November 4, 2004). "Did dispute over performance lead to Mac Dre's death?". Tri-Valley Herald (Pleasanton, CA).
  6. ^ "Hicks was thrown from the van, but police said he died from the shooting." from "Underground rapper killed in shooting on Kansas City highway". The Associated Press State & Local Wire. November 2, 2004.
  7. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2006-03-03). "Bay Area Rapper Mac Minister Apprehended By FBI". MTV News. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Johnson, Dick "SOHH Exclusive: Mac Dre's Tombstone Stolen, Longtime Friend Speaks Out, SOHH.com (August 24 2006)

External links

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