feelin’ myself
Hyphy pioneer “is a cultural icon who made a tremendous impact on the Bay Area and beyond through his music and pioneering creativity,” Golden State Warriors star told Billboard
NBA star Stephen Curry is among the producers of an upcoming documentary focusing on the late Bay Area rapper and hyphy pioneer Mac Dre.
Curry, a member of the Golden Star Warriors (formerly of Mac Dre’s birthplace of Oakland), will produce the film alongside his Unanimous Media co-founder Erick Peyton and with approval from Mac Dre’s mother.
“Mac Dre is a cultural icon who made a tremendous impact on the Bay Area and beyond through his music and pioneering creativity,” Curry and Peyton said in a statement to Billboard. “We’re honored to work with Mac Dre’s incredible mother, Wanda, to tell her son’s life story with respect and dignity for fans, the Bay Area community, and music lovers alike.”
The rapper’s (born Andre Hicks) mother, Wanda Salvatto, added, “I look forward to sharing how from Andre’s dreams of rapping emerged a blueprint that not only inspired a generation but also became a guide to conquering obstacles and fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams.”
Hicks was born in Oakland and raised in nearby Vallejo, where he started recording music on independent Bay Area labels (including his own Thizz Entertainment) under the name Mac Dre.
After a four-year prison stint following a controversial conviction, the rapper was among the pioneers of the Bay Area’s hyphy movement, a “hyperactive” dance-focused style of hip-hop that only gained national attention, sadly, following Mac Dre’s death in 2004; Hicks was shot and killed at the age of 34 while on tour in Kansas City.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone placed Mac Dre’s “Feelin’ Myself” at Number Nine on our list of the 100 Best West Coast Hip-Hop Songs. It’s unclear when the documentary will be released, but 2024 coincides with the 20th anniversary of the rapper’s death.