Shortly over a year ago, on November 1, 2004, Bay Area underground rap legend Mac Dre (Andre Hicks) was killed while traveling on Kansas City's Highway 71. Like nearly all hip-hop-related murders, the case remains unsolved. Though he never reached the mainstream/crossover status of fallen emcees like Biggie and Tupac, in California, and especially his home turf of Vallejo, (home of E-40, Mac Mall, and B-Legit), Dre was a giant among men.

Taking to the mic in the mid-to-late 1980s, he began his career as a protégé of Vallejo's original Mac, who dropped the local favorite The Game Is Thick back in '88, (and was later slain in a case of mistaken identity). The young Dre grinded full-time, releasing the albums Young Black Brotha and California Livin'. With his charismatic flow, Crestside neighborhood pride, and genuine insight into the streets, his reputation and fan base grew quickly. He scored a few hit singles, most notably "2 Hard 4 the F****n' Radio."

Then, in 1991, on the heels of his third record, What's Really Going On?, and at the height of his fame, Mac Dre was locked up for his alleged involvement with the Romper Room gang, a notorious crew who committed a rash of bank robberies in the area. Dre denied the charges against him, but provocative songs like "Punk Police" (in which he calls out the Vallejo police chief) and shout-outs to the Romper Room fam on the back of his album made him an easy target.

Mac Dre

During the trial, his own lyrics were used against him (this same tactic was used to win prison terms for two Sacramento rappers, X-Raided and C-BO), and he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in state prison. While incarcerated, his producer, Khayree, established the Young Black Brotha label and recorded the album Back N 'da Hood with him over the phone. He also helped established the career of Mac Mall, another Vallejo player heavily influenced by the imprisoned emcee, whose 1993 LP Illegal Business? became a Bay classic.

Released in the summer of 1996, Mac Dre went back to work, establishing a new label (Romp Records), recording compilations and solo albums alike. Eventually he started yet another label, Thizz Entertainment, relocated to Sacramento, and churned out tons of new material (often under a variety of aliases--Thizzle Washington, Ronald Dregan, and others) at an alarming rate. Then, just as he was blowing up for the second time, he was shot dead.

While the police have been unable to solve the mystery of Dre's murder, someone seems to be exacting revenge. Last May, Kansas City rapper Fat Tone, who was rumored to have killed or at least set up Dre, and an associate were gunned down in Las Vegas, courtesy of 33 shots from an assault rifle. Police claim the culprits are Dre's friend and promoter Mac Minister, and another man named Jason Mathis. Both were indicted on murder charges early this month. Two days later, Lee Danae Laursen, a 21-year-old call girl who had accompanied the two to Vegas, was found shot to death in Fairfield, California.

Mathis, who admitted to a friend that he had pulled the trigger, was arrested in July after beating up a girlfriend. Mac Minister remains on the run, and may be featured on an upcoming episode of America's Most Wanted.

Though the ongoing criminal case resembles an over-the-top gangsta rap fantasy, it should be noted that Mac Dre himself was never a killer, and quite possibly never a bank robber, either. He was an artist who spoke to and from the streets, a young black brotha whose life was snuffed out too soon. Only 34 years old, he put out some 20 albums and helped mentor an entire generation of Bay Area emcees. He will be forever remembered for his contributions to hip-hop, while his label Thizz Entertainment continues to thrive, releasing new material from Dre and the next wave of Vallejo acts.