Hip hop , West Coast hip hop. Hicks released several EPs from to , before being sentenced to five years in jail in for conspiracy to commit robbery. After his release from jail in , he released ten studio albums over an eight-year span. On 1 November , Hicks was shot and killed by an unknown assailant after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri.

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But his clever, hardcore rhymes had an underground following, and when he was killed on a Kansas City freeway last November, hip-hop radio stations mourned him at length. Mac Dre was big enough for that. Police investigators say Hicks, 34, was shot in a financial dispute, but the rumor mill said something sexier: that a West-Midwest rap war had flared and that a notorious Kansas City rapper dubbed "Fat Tone" had taken out Hicks. In the world of hip-hop, police say, bad blood often means good business. The two San Francisco men were indicted on murder charges early this month. Two days later, a year-old call girl who was in Las Vegas with them turned up dead in Fairfield, shot in the head. The violent story, pieced together through interviews and court records, reflects the blurry line between rumor and reality in the world of underground rap. Kansas City police Detective Everett Babcock , who cleared Watkins in Hicks' death, feared that rumors following the shooting might turn deadly.
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Andre Andrey Hicks [1] July 5, — November 1, , better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was one of the originators of hyphy and is generally considered the creator of Thizz music. 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 s throughout the Bay Area, eventually receiving national recognition through his independent record labels Romp and Thizz Entertainment. His music continues to be released posthumously.
More Images. Please enable Javascript to take full advantage of our site features. Edit Artist. Mac Dre was considered as one of the pioneers of Bay Area rap. He started his career in the late 's working with Khayree on his label, Strictly Business Records.