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Mac Dre
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Before his untimely death in 2004, Mac Dre had been a pillar of Bay Area hip-hop for over a decade. Whereas most rappers in the gangsta rap arena bank upon humorless braggadocio and empty threats, Mac Dre took a looser, more humorous approach to the genre. By exposing his lighter side, Mac Dre presented a more realistic and three-dimensional persona that endeared him to at least two generations of Bay Area hip-hop fans. Born Andre Hicks in 1970, the Vallejo-based emcee began recording in the late 1980s. His first few albums, beginning with his 1989 debut, the Young Black Brotha EP, were competent, if generic gangsta rap. He ran into a roadblock, both literally and figuratively, when he was arrested in 1991 for conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
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Andre Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name, Mac Dre, was a San Francisco Bay Area-based gangsta rapper from Vallejo, California. He is considered one of the innovators of the hyphy music movement.[1] During his career in the rap world, he worked with artists like Snoop Dogg,[2] Dr. Dre's step brother Warren G, Kokane, Da'unda'dogg, Mistah F.A.B., MC Hammer, Mac Mall, San Quinn, E-40, Too Short, Ray Luv, and Keak Da Sneak. He ... provided an uncredited hook to the track "Gotta Survive" off of Young Lay's Black N' Dangerous album, a track which featured Tupac Shakur.[3]
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Due to various legal troubles, Mac Dre didn't have the opportuntity to deliver a full-fledged follow-up to his second album, Young Black Brotha, until 1998 -- five years after YBB was released. The resulting ...Read full review
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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. He is ... recognized as part of the Thizz Movement, which is very similar to the Hyphy movement.
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After his release from prison in 1997, 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.
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It was a routine trip to Kansas City, a place Mac Dre had visited and performed in many times before--a city where he had loyal fans and always felt at home. This time, though, something was amiss, and a misunderstanding with a local promoter had led to a cancelled appearance. Around 4:30am on Monday, Nov. 1, Dre was in a van driving down Kansas City's Highway 71 when a car with no license plates pulled alongside the van and an occupant opened fire.
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Mac Dre