Mac Dre was a Bay Area based rapper from the Crest side of Vallejo, California. Mac Dre had been active since 1988, and is considered one of the predecessors of the hyphy movement. During his career in the rap game, he worked with artists like Andre Nickatina, Yukmouth, Snoop Dogg, Mac Mall, JT The Bigga Figga, Dubee, Keak da Sneak, and many others.
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 shout outs and reference’s. 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 parlor’s. Dre was alleged to be a member of the gang. The rapper was arrested in Fresno, CA. He was eventually sentenced to five years in federal prison in 1992.
In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording songs directly over the Fresno County jail inmate phone. His album, Young Black Brotha, was a result of his jailhouse phone recordings, as well as feature appearances on fellow artists’ songs, all while Dre was still incarcerated. A later album, Back ‘N Da Hood, was also compiled from these jail-recorded songs.
After his release from prison in 1996, Mac Dre began releasing albums steadily, kicking things off with “The Rompalation” compilation. This compilation was the first installment of growing popular series of albums. Mac Dre’s audience began to steadily grow, and mainstream hip hop stations began Dre’s music more airtime. Mac Dre ended up moving to Sacramento, CA in 2001. During this time, he began his label, Thizz Entertainment.
Mac Dre began to create various eccentric personalities for his music. Oftentimes, Mac Dre would create multiple albums during a single time period. Mac Dre even released two solo albums on the same day. “Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics” was released on 07/20/2004, the same day that he simultaneously released the album “The Genie of the Lamp.”
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 along with other Thizz artists. While specifics are still unclear, the incident ended in the killing of a bay area rap icon. The van Dre was riding in, swerved off the road and into a ravine, where it crashed into a tree. Word is that Dre was thrown from the van, but officials say they found him in the front seat, dead on arrival.
Mac Dre had coined many phrases, and was very influential in the Bay Area rap scene. His DVD series Treal TV 1 & 2 are considered cult classics.
To this day, Mac Dre’s influence can be seen daily, in hip hop culture around the world. With the arrival of various social media platforms over the years, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know Mac Dre would have been trending on all of them. Thizz in Peace, Mac D-R-E!
Check out some of Mac Dre’s releases:
- California Livin’
- - The Rompalation
- - Thizzelle Washington
- - Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics
