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Hip Hop Legends: Mac Dre
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 20th January 2016 | Teresa
Hailing from the Bay Area of California, the originator of the thizzle dance and one of the pioneers of the hyphy movement, Mac Dre is this week’s Hip Hop Legend. Mac Dre, born in Oakland and raised in Vallejo had and continue to has a major influence on hip hop coming out of the Bay Area in the 90s.
From a young age, Dre was interested in music. He got into rapping at a time when rapping wasn’t a widely listened to musical genre, it was a way of expression or ‘soultalking.’ Dre’s mom also commented on his interest in people from a young age, he joined different sports, but was more interested in learning about his team mates and their cultural differences. This transcended beyond his childhood. Dre’s a hip hop legend because his music continues to appeal to people of every ethnicity and upbringing; for Dre, it didn’t matter who was listening to his music, it mattered that you could get hyphy to it.
Dre released three albums by 1991, before going to prison in 1992 for conspiring a robbery and then refusing to release the names of his partners. Despite his incarceration, Dre dropped his album Young Black Brotha after recording it over the phone in jail. Dre’s dedication proves him to be a hip hop legend; not even the law could stop him from rapping. Ultimately, Dre is important as a representative of the Bay hip hop culture; a culture often overshadowed by its SoCal counterpart, but one comprised of equally talented artists. Dre went on to work with many of these artists, including Keak da Sneak, E-40, and Too Short, and also started his own independent record label: Thizz Entertainment.
Despite losing Dre in 2004, his influence is still felt within the Bay and within the rap community.
