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 recordi...  [+]