Mac Dre

Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known professionally as Mac Dre, was an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement in the Bay Area hip-hop scene that emerged in the early 2000s. Hicks is considered one of the movement's key pioneers that fueled its popularity into mainstream, releasing songs with fast-paced rhymes and basslines that inspired a new style of dance. As the founder of the independent record label Thizz Entertainment, Hicks recorded dozens of albums and gave aspiring rappers an outlet to release albums locally. On November 1, 2004, Hicks was shot and killed by an unknown assailant after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri, a case that remains unsolved.