- Mac Dre
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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, 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 Associated acts Andre Nickatina, E-40, 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 Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper.
Contents
Biography
Andre Hicks was born in Oakland, California but moved to Vallejo while still a child. Under the stage name "Mac Dre", Hicks began his rap career in the early 1980s, gaining a greater degree of recognition in the late eighties and early nineties.[1]
After recording his first three albums between 1989 and 1991, Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Hicks's record label, Romp Productions, and his many references to "Romper Room" in his songs, bore a similarity to a group of robbers targeting banks and pizza parlors who were active in Vallejo at the time called the "Romper Room Gang." Hicks, alleged by authorities to be a member of the gang, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison in 1992 after refusing a deal offered by law enforcement authorities that would have required him to inform on other gang members.[2]
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.[2]
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.[2]
He worked with well-known artists such as Keak da Sneak, E-40, B-Legit, Brotha Lynch Hung, Dubee,[3] Mistah Fab,[4] Rydah J. Klyde,[5] Richie Rich,[6] Lil Ric[7] 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.[8]
He was in Kansas City, Missouri where he was performing a rap concert.[9]
Discography
Main article: Mac Dre discography
Solo albums
- 1993: Young Black Brotha: The Album
- 1998: Stupid Doo Doo Dumb
- 1999: Rapper Gone Bad
- 2000: Heart Of A Gangsta, Mind Of A Hustla, Tongue Of A Pimp
- 2002: Thizzelle Washington
- 2003: Al Boo Boo
- 2004: Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics
- 2004: The Genie of the Lamp
- 2004: The Game Is Thick, Vol. 2
- 2007: Pill Clinton
- 2008: [[Dre Day: July 5th 1970]
Compilation albums & Remix albums
- 2002: Do You Remember?
- 2006: 16 wit Dre (with DJ Backside)
- 2006: 16 wit Dre, Vol. 2 (with DJ Backside)
- 2006: Uncut
- 2007: Starters in the Game
- 2008: The Dre Area
- 2008: What Iz Thizz
- 2008: For the Streets (14 Unreleased Tracks)
- 2011: The Last of the Treasure
Extended Plays & Cassettes
- 1989: Young Black Brotha
- 1991: California Livin'
- 1992: Back n Da Hood
Best Of Albums
- 1993: The Best of Mac Dre
- 2004: The Best of Mac Dre II
- 2006: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 3
- 2008: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 4
- 2010: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 5
Collaboration albums
- 2001: Turf Buccaneers (with Cutthroat Committee)
- 2005: Money iz Motive (with Cutthroat Committee)
- 2005: Da U.S. Open (with Mac Mall)
- 2005: 15 Years Deep (with Da'unda'dogg)
- 2007: DreDiggs: Me & My Cuddie (with J-Diggs)
- 2007: Everybody Ain't Able (with Jay Tee)
- 2008: A Tale of Two Andres (with Andre Nickatina)
- 2009: Maccin' & Doggin' (with Da'unda'dogg)
- 2010: Tha Furly Ghost Vol. 2 (with Dubee)
- 2010: Tha Furly Ghost Vol. 3 (with Husalah)
References
- ^ http://www.mac-dre.info/biography.php
- ^ a b c http://www.mac-dre.info/career.php
- ^ Rahman, Ali (2010-30-11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iTEUydzdk0
- ^ Rahman, Ali (2010-30-11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFo450kSCqM
- ^ Rahman, Ali (2010-30-11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGR2tpXsdhc
- ^ Rahman, Ali (2010-30-11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbH9bPT9U8g
- ^ Rahman, Ali (2010-30-11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdl-DYQi5fA
- ^ Caples, Garrett (2005-11-16). "Nation of Thizzlam: Mac Dre's Thizz label undergoes a rebirth.". San Francisco Bay Guardian. http://www.sfbg.com/40/07/news_dre2.html. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
- ^ Bulwa, Demian (November 1, 2004). "Rapper Mac Dre slain in Kansas City". Hearst Communications, Inc.. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/02/RAPPER.TMP. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
Categories:- African American rappers
- Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area
- People from Oakland, California
- Underground rappers
- Deaths by firearm in Missouri
- Murdered rappers
- Unsolved murders in the United States
- West Coast hip hop
- People from Vallejo, California
- 1970 births
- 2004 deaths
- Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)
- People murdered in Missouri
- Murdered African-American people
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