MAC DRE at LAX Airport in 1991 and BEHIND THE SCENES Video !

http://www.pushinthebay.com - Andre Hicks (July 5, 1970 -- November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name, Mac Dre, was a Bay Area-based gangsta rapper. He is one of the innovators of the hyphy music movement, and is generally considered the creator and figurehead of the Thizz music movement. During his career in the rap world, he worked with well-known artists such as Snoop Dogg, Warren G, E-40, Keak da Sneak, Andre Nickatina, and Too Short. He also provided an uncredited hook to the track "Gotta Survive" off of Young Lay's Black N' Dangerous album, a track which featured Tupac Shakur.

Mac Dre was born in Oakland, California. As a child, Hicks was moved to and raised in Vallejo, California by his mother to remove them from the dangers of Oakland . His lyrics were largely based on his neighborhood known by those around him as "The Crest", short for Country Club 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 more 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 parlors. The Robberies even had small segment on the television show Unsolved Mysteries. Hicks was alleged to be a member of the gang which also included Bay Rapper J-Diggs and Da'unda'dogg. Hicks was sentenced to five years in prison in 1992.

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 being rambunctuous. He is also recognized as part of the Thizz Movement, which is very similar to the Hyphy movement.

Mac Dre's underground rap career kept him off of the radio stations and T.V. screens almost entirely. However, B.E.T.'s documentary-type show American Gangster will air an episode focusing on Mac Dre and his Romper Room ties. The show is expected to be aired sometime in November as part of B.E.T.'s new programming block. Mac Dre was also featured on M.T.V.'s My Block in a memorial montage.

Filmed by Khayree.

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• dre
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• hicks
• gangsta
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• bay
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• thizz
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• vallejo
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• pushinthebay

[sidewaysntraffic]

Hahaha they were saying yadamean back in 91.. It finally came to the light in 2k by the main stream.

[ayokae]

Mac drizzle in some skinnys ahahhahahaa rip cuddy rock

[kevtarzan]

Wow hella rare thanks ...

[TEXASHYPH]

Looks Like they are filming for the california living Video at the pool

[BLOCKMONSTER420]

you might wanna move around a lil bit

[LADYSNASTYMAN]

he wasnt that drugged out at that time.

[cbaines]

that bitch reminds me of a slut i knew once

[TaLoCc]

nigga i bet if any of yall kick it wit mac dre hell b hella co0.he maybe even spit jokes all day.

[lorddremen]

UNDERGROUND Hip hop legend/ the best!!

R.I.P!

[coolfool206]

not just the bay

but hip hop/rap period

[KoolBearTeddy]

R.I.P. Mac Dre

Bay Area Legend