Filthy cents(the snitch)
Jul 23 2005, 03:52 PM
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Nas Wants 2 Work Wit Game!
Filthy cents(the snitch) Posted on: Jul 22 2005, 01:09 PM
Replies: 5
Views: 54 On November 1st, 2004, the entire Hip-Hop and rap world experienced such a great loss, that we are all still shaken, and we are all still feeling the void left behind after Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was so abruptly taken from us. Our “Young Black Brother” was violently gunned down on a Kansas City, Mo. freeway, and the details of his murder are as unclear today as they were on that early morning on Highway 71 near 85th Street. What we do know is that a another car pulled up along the drivers side of the vehicle that Mac Dre was a passenger in and opened fire. The driver of the Mac Dre’s vehicle swerved to the right, crossed the center median and went through oncoming southbound traffic, into a ravine. The passenger in the car was killed, but it wasn’t known whether Mac Dre’s fatal wounds occurred as a result of the gun battle or as a result of the crash into the ravine.
And we lost another.
And as before, with Tupac, and with Biggie…this murder also goes unresolved.
Everyone that I know was in disbelief and denial. After all, wasn’t during the famous “Mac Dre” month long birthday party…rumors of his death were constant and greatly exaggerated ? Everyone I know has a “Mac Dre” slang or story, or a “Mac Dre” move that they constantly imitated…or their favorite “Mac Dre” line or rhyme. Unfortunately, the press, when they did decide to take note of our communitie’s loss, only did so to comment on Mac Dre’s affiliation with “The Romper Room gang”, in an attempt to imply that somehow Mac Dre’s death was retribution for past sins.
So I felt the need to set his record straight.
Jamal “J-Digg$” Diggs was a lifelong friend, label mate, partner in rhyme and cellmate of Mac Dre. I have heard many rumors and stories about the man Andre Hicks, and the living legend known as Mac Dre. I know of only one man who witnessed the birth, growth and rise of the bay Area par pioneer, and his version is the one I feel is worth hearing. So I sat down with J-Digg$, and we crossed into the memories that made up the complete story of the Life and times of “Mac Dre”.
Will: Tell us about how you met Mac Dre
J: We go back to kids. Basically Dre is from Vallejo and Vallejo is broke into sides. Dre is originally from a side of Vallejo called Greer side. Even before Dre was really close to me he was close to my little cousin Kilo. We just basically started off running together as youngsters. Grew up running around the neighborhood with radios and became close. You know how kids are, you start off just as friends in the streets and ending up growing up together and becoming a crew. So we've been knowing each other for a long time.
916: So you pretty much came up in the Crest
J: Country Club Crest. Dre is one of the guys that made that neighborhood famous, what it is today. He was the first rapper to put the neighborhood on the map. Then it was Mac Dre and then came Mac Mal. Me and Dre came from the same crew so we were a lot closer. We all had a passion for music but Dre was like the rapper in the group. He was the one that really had the heart. I was a rapper too but Dre was the one who was really all that when we were young. So he was like the spokesman of the crew when it came to speaking on the microphone. In '88/'89 Dre dropped his first album Young Black Brother that was the one that opened it up. Everybody knew this is Dre, this is the Romper Room Crew, this is where they're from. He opened the doors for a lot of Bay Area rappers.
916: As far as California goes, I think The Crest and maybe South Central Los Angeles have the highest concentration of rappers on the West Coast.
J: Statistically you probably can't find another neighborhood in this country with as many guys with albums out as the Crest. For a small neighborhood we have somewhere in the teens the number of artists with albums out. It started out from basically one rapper.
916: I got a challenge for you, name them.
J: Crest side rappers? I'll just go off the head. We started originally with the Mac, Mike Robinson. Then it was Mac Dre, Mac Mal, Dubee Sugawolf Pimp, PSD the Driver, Coolio Da Underdog, The Killa Team. Dre was a pioneer. It was funny because Dre turned into a character. When he first came into the game Dre was a more serious rapper. Prior to us going to jail, then we came home and Dre kind of loosened up and got more into the party feel. He really turned it into a whole party groove. That's why people liked him. He made the kind of music people could have fun to. He made his own language, his own terminology, he was a pioneer. That's why so many people loved and respected him. Because he basically set the tone for his own standard of music, his own style. A lot of people look at E-40 as the Bay Area ambassador period. The truth is Dre is the real pioneer to Vallejo music and 40 got the notoriety because he ended up signing a deal. But in all actuality that deal was in our face prior to 40 getting it. 40 got the major deal in the early 90's that Mac Dre should've got had we not went to prison, honestly. But it happened, 40 that's my dude and I congratulate him to the fullest. But if you find another artist out that's been in the game as long as Dre. That's put out literally 26 or 27 albums over a 15 year period. We really showed the music game that we street dudes went to prison, we lost our life as a crew. Young dudes, 17, 18, and 19 years old we went to jail. At the time young dudes really weren't into what we were into. We started robbing banks when we were basically kids. Bank robberies were unheard of, dudes didn't have the heart to even think about running into a bank. And we were young dudes that said we're going to try something. Dre got caught into something and he never got the chance to set the record straight. Dre did 5 years in the federal pen for basically keeping his mouth closed. Dre was a good friend to me.
916: Talk to me about that because I know what kind of man Dre was. The story about that is a text-book lesson in being a stand up man.
J: We were 19 years old and we got set into a situation where you had to say this is what's it going to be. Either it's going to be man or mouse. We got put into a position where we sat before a 12 man jury and a trial. The DA came to Dre and told Dre we know you're not robbing banks, all we need you to do is tell us that Diggs and Nelson are robbing these banks and you can walk home. Dre had to make a decision to be a stand up street guy or be a rat basically. And he chose to be a man to his
Xx
crew and he went to a trial he never should've been a part of. Dre rode with me and Kilo to Fresno and I had intentions to do what I was doing. But Dre was actually going out there to visit some female. He was my homeboy riding with us and he got caught into a conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery that he never had a part of. Subsequently Dre ended up doing five years in the federal pen for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery for riding to Fresno with two of his friends. Instead of rolling over and saying yeah that's what they were going to do, Dre rode it out and went to trial was found guilty and lost his life to the federal pen because of his dudes.
916: So what was the plan when you two both got out of prison?
J: We came home, sat down, and talked about what we've been through. We talked about what we wanted to do and that's what we did. That's all we did was make music, have fun, and try to take this record company to the next level. I'm not from Sacramento, I came to Sacramento because of Mac Dre. I moved in a house with him, we lived together. We got up every morning, we'd smoke a joint and ride and talk about what we had to do for our label. This was our life, this is why I came to Sacramento and I'm here. I'm living in the same apartment he left me at and I didn't know anything about Sac. But I'm here now, Dre brought me out here and we have a goal with our company now. It's still thiz or die, they have a lot more dudes they have to kill as far as I'm concerned. Now it's like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. We're going to make it happen, we're going to ride on for Dre. I get a lot of letters and phone calls. That dude was respected like you couldn't believe for being a real street dude. It hurt to know that it happened like that. It more than anything with me because anybody that knows me and Dre knows we're normally always together. And the day that he went to Kansas City I was supposed to be there with Dre. I didn't go to Kansas City because I had a court date in Vallejo. I was debating if I should miss court and get a warrant but I didn't. When I got that phone call the next morning it was like a piece of me was just gone. I'm supposed to be there with this dude. That's my job as a friend, as his cutty. We go together, we be together. I can't say that it wouldn't have happened but who's to say that we would've been in that car. Dre is not normally by himself. There's a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of things that could've happened. It also goes back to certain things happen for a reason. I can't really say why the called the cutty home but he's gone. But he left us something to work with and we're working with it. That dude is going to be missed and loved forever. A lot of people say Tupac or Biggie is the best rapper alive. But to me Mac Dre is the greatest rapper ever. He did it on a whole other level like a lot of dudes couldn't do it. And he did it without the man power and without the money. He did it strictly off his voice and street credibility.
916: Can you set the record straight about what happened that night for those with only half the story?
J. That's basically up for the law to determine. It's not for me to say who did what. All I can say is that it happened and somehow it's getting dealt with. Whether it be by the police or by the streets. I can't speak on exactly what happened but it shouldn't have happened period. Nobody was looking for Dre, he didn't have a hit on him or any of that. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right after, I flew to Kansas City, I was on the first thing smoking. And the one thing that pissed me off was the media after talking about the shooting immediately went into he did prison time and ran with bank robbers. Instead of talking about how he was an influential underground artist. It was like they were saying it was okay he got killed because he's a bad guy. Like it was his own fault he was shot. But that's the media and that's what we have to deal with. I'm doing a lot better, I took it really hard. I took it personal. I had to do a lot of soul searching myself. I didn't just lose a friend, I lost a part of me. He left a legacy for his daughter which is like my daughter too, Drenae. She's been left with something to carry on. He only had one child, his daughter Drenae Hicks.
916: Tell us about the future of Mac Dre records. What are you doing?
J: Our roster is not going to do anything but get bigger. I named the guys that's in our camp and that's just another way of dedicating all our loyalty to Dre. It's going to be Mac Dre records we taking this camp. It's just a branch inside the Thiz Film and Music. You never really know how famous you are until you're gone. So of course Thiz Film and Music is bigger than it's ever been right now. We're pulling in artists that are goin to represent this label to the fullest. A lot of cats know Mac Mal is part of our camp, he signed with Thiz. The next project is we actually have a Mac Mal and Mac Dre album finished, ready to hit the streets. It should be out in another month and a half. We have Thiz mix tapes, we took everyone's beats and put the thiz twist on them. We got Trill TV too that's edited and ready to hit the streets.
916: Let the readers know how you want him to be remembered.
J: I want him to be remembered just the way he was. When you see Dre you just think hyphy, he was a hyphy dude that made you smile. Just keep the slang, everybody knew how we talked. It's going to be Mac Dre forever, we got over 30 Mac Dre releases on the shelf right now. Knock the music, they know what it is. If you came to the wake or the funeral you could see the love that Dre got. Over 6 thousand people in a 4 0r 5 hour period came out just for the wake to say goodbye. Just remember him for what he did, he's a bay area pioneer and he represented the bay to the fullest. He gave us plenty of music to listen to and new slang. So just keep my cutty alive, that's all I can ever ask. Bump his music, always shout him On November 1st, 2004, the entire Hip-Hop and rap world experienced such a great loss, that we are all still shaken, and we are all still feeling the void left behind after Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was so abruptly taken from us. Our “Young Black Brother” was violently gunned down on a Kansas City, Mo. freeway, and the details of his murder are as unclear today as they were on that early morning on Highway 71 near 85th Street. What we do know is that a another car pulled up along the drivers side of the vehicle that Mac Dre was a passenger in and opened fire. The driver of the Mac Dre’s vehicle swerved to the right, crossed the center median and went through oncoming southbound traffic, into a ravine. The passenger in the car was killed, but it wasn’t known whether Mac Dre’s fatal wounds occurred as a result of the gun battle or as a result of the crash into the ravine.
And we lost another.
And as before, with Tupac, and with Biggie…this murder also goes unresolved.
Everyone that I know was in disbelief and denial. After all, wasn’t during the famous “Mac Dre” month long birthday party…rumors of his death were constant and greatly exaggerated ? Everyone I know has a “Mac Dre” slang or story, or a “Mac Dre” move that they constantly imitated…or their favorite “Mac Dre” line or rhyme. Unfortunately, the press, when they did decide to take note of our communitie’s loss, only did so to comment on Mac Dre’s affiliation with “The Romper Room gang”, in an attempt to imply that somehow Mac Dre’s death was retribution for past sins.
So I felt the need to set his record straight.
Jamal “J-Digg$” Diggs was a lifelong friend, label mate, partner in rhyme and cellmate of Mac Dre. I have heard many rumors and stories about the man Andre Hicks, and the living legend known as Mac Dre. I know of only one man who witnessed the birth, growth and rise of the bay Area par pioneer, and his version is the one I feel is worth hearing. So I sat down with J-Digg$, and we crossed into the memories that made up the complete story of the Life and times of “Mac Dre”.
Will: Tell us about how you met Mac Dre
J: We go back to kids. Basically Dre is from Vallejo and Vallejo is broke into sides. Dre is originally from a side of Vallejo called Greer side. Even before Dre was really close to me he was close to my little cousin Kilo. We just basically started off running together as youngsters. Grew up running around the neighborhood with radios and became close. You know how kids are, you start off just as friends in the streets and ending up growing up together and becoming a crew. So we've been knowing each other for a long time.
916: So you pretty much came up in the Crest
J: Country Club Crest. Dre is one of the guys that made that neighborhood famous, what it is today. He was the first rapper to put the neighborhood on the map. Then it was Mac Dre and then came Mac Mal. Me and Dre came from the same crew so we were a lot closer. We all had a passion for music but Dre was like the rapper in the group. He was the one that really had the heart. I was a rapper too but Dre was the one who was really all that when we were young. So he was like the spokesman of the crew when it came to speaking on the microphone. In '88/'89 Dre dropped his first album Young Black Brother that was the one that opened it up. Everybody knew this is Dre, this is the Romper Room Crew, this is where they're from. He opened the doors for a lot of Bay Area rappers.
916: As far as California goes, I think The Crest and maybe South Central Los Angeles have the highest concentration of rappers on the West Coast.
J: Statistically you probably can't find another neighborhood in this country with as many guys with albums out as the Crest. For a small neighborhood we have somewhere in the teens the number of artists with albums out. It started out from basically one rapper.
916: I got a challenge for you, name them.
J: Crest side rappers? I'll just go off the head. We started originally with the Mac, Mike Robinson. Then it was Mac Dre, Mac Mal, Dubee Sugawolf Pimp, PSD the Driver, Coolio Da Underdog, The Killa Team. Dre was a pioneer. It was funny because Dre turned into a character. When he first came into the game Dre was a more serious rapper. Prior to us going to jail, then we came home and Dre kind of loosened up and got more into the party feel. He really turned it into a whole party groove. That's why people liked him. He made the kind of music people could have fun to. He made his own language, his own terminology, he was a pioneer. That's why so many people loved and respected him. Because he basically set the tone for his own standard of music, his own style. A lot of people look at E-40 as the Bay Area ambassador period. The truth is Dre is the real pioneer to Vallejo music and 40 got the notoriety because he ended up signing a deal. But in all actuality that deal was in our face prior to 40 getting it. 40 got the major deal in the early 90's that Mac Dre should've got had we not went to prison, honestly. But it happened, 40 that's my dude and I congratulate him to the fullest. But if you find another artist out that's been in the game as long as Dre. That's put out literally 26 or 27 albums over a 15 year period. We really showed the music game that we street dudes went to prison, we lost our life as a crew. Young dudes, 17, 18, and 19 years old we went to jail. At the time young dudes really weren't into what we were into. We started robbing banks when we were basically kids. Bank robberies were unheard of, dudes didn't have the heart to even think about running into a bank. And we were young dudes that said we're going to try something. Dre got caught into something and he never got the chance to set the record straight. Dre did 5 years in the federal pen for basically keeping his mouth closed. Dre was a good friend to me.
916: Talk to me about that because I know what kind of man Dre was. The story about that is a text-book lesson in being a stand up man.
J: We were 19 years old and we got set into a situation where you had to say this is what's it going to be. Either it's going to be man or mouse. We got put into a position where we sat before a 12 man jury and a trial. The DA came to Dre and told Dre we know you're not robbing banks, all we need you to do is tell us that Diggs and Nelson are robbing these banks and you can walk home. Dre had to make a decision to be a stand up street guy or be a rat basically. And he chose to be a man to his
Xx
crew and he went to a trial he never should've been a part of. Dre rode with me and Kilo to Fresno and I had intentions to do what I was doing. But Dre was actually going out there to visit some female. He was my homeboy riding with us and he got caught into a conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery that he never had a part of. Subsequently Dre ended up doing five years in the federal pen for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery for riding to Fresno with two of his friends. Instead of rolling over and saying yeah that's what they were going to do, Dre rode it out and went to trial was found guilty and lost his life to the federal pen because of his dudes.
916: So what was the plan when you two both got out of prison?
J: We came home, sat down, and talked about what we've been through. We talked about what we wanted to do and that's what we did. That's all we did was make music, have fun, and try to take this record company to the next level. I'm not from Sacramento, I came to Sacramento because of Mac Dre. I moved in a house with him, we lived together. We got up every morning, we'd smoke a joint and ride and talk about what we had to do for our label. This was our life, this is why I came to Sacramento and I'm here. I'm living in the same apartment he left me at and I didn't know anything about Sac. But I'm here now, Dre brought me out here and we have a goal with our company now. It's still thiz or die, they have a lot more dudes they have to kill as far as I'm concerned. Now it's like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. We're going to make it happen, we're going to ride on for Dre. I get a lot of letters and phone calls. That dude was respected like you couldn't believe for being a real street dude. It hurt to know that it happened like that. It more than anything with me because anybody that knows me and Dre knows we're normally always together. And the day that he went to Kansas City I was supposed to be there with Dre. I didn't go to Kansas City because I had a court date in Vallejo. I was debating if I should miss court and get a warrant but I didn't. When I got that phone call the next morning it was like a piece of me was just gone. I'm supposed to be there with this dude. That's my job as a friend, as his cutty. We go together, we be together. I can't say that it wouldn't have happened but who's to say that we would've been in that car. Dre is not normally by himself. There's a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of things that could've happened. It also goes back to certain things happen for a reason. I can't really say why the called the cutty home but he's gone. But he left us something to work with and we're working with it. That dude is going to be missed and loved forever. A lot of people say Tupac or Biggie is the best rapper alive. But to me Mac Dre is the greatest rapper ever. He did it on a whole other level like a lot of dudes couldn't do it. And he did it without the man power and without the money. He did it strictly off his voice and street credibility.
916: Can you set the record straight about what happened that night for those with only half the story?
J. That's basically up for the law to determine. It's not for me to say who did what. All I can say is that it happened and somehow it's getting dealt with. Whether it be by the police or by the streets. I can't speak on exactly what happened but it shouldn't have happened period. Nobody was looking for Dre, he didn't have a hit on him or any of that. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right after, I flew to Kansas City, I was on the first thing smoking. And the one thing that pissed me off was the media after talking about the shooting immediately went into he did prison time and ran with bank robbers. Instead of talking about how he was an influential underground artist. It was like they were saying it was okay he got killed because he's a bad guy. Like it was his own fault he was shot. But that's the media and that's what we have to deal with. I'm doing a lot better, I took it really hard. I took it personal. I had to do a lot of soul searching myself. I didn't just lose a friend, I lost a part of me. He left a legacy for his daughter which is like my daughter too, Drenae. She's been left with something to carry on. He only had one child, his daughter Drenae Hicks.
916: Tell us about the future of Mac Dre records. What are you doing?
J: Our roster is not going to do anything but get bigger. I named the guys that's in our camp and that's just another way of dedicating all our loyalty to Dre. It's going to be Mac Dre records we taking this camp. It's just a branch inside the Thiz Film and Music. You never really know how famous you are until you're gone. So of course Thiz Film and Music is bigger than it's ever been right now. We're pulling in artists that are goin to represent this label to the fullest. A lot of cats know Mac Mal is part of our camp, he signed with Thiz. The next project is we actually have a Mac Mal and Mac Dre album finished, ready to hit the streets. It should be out in another month and a half. We have Thiz mix tapes, we took everyone's beats and put the thiz twist on them. We got Trill TV too that's edited and ready to hit the streets.
916: Let the readers know how you want him to be remembered.
J: I want him to be remembered just the way he was. When you see Dre you just think hyphy, he was a hyphy dude that made you smile. Just keep the slang, everybody knew how we talked. It's going to be Mac Dre forever, we got over 30 Mac Dre releases on the shelf right now. Knock the music, they know what it is. If you came to the wake or the funeral you could see the love that Dre got. Over 6 thousand people in a 4 0r 5 hour period came out just for the wake to say goodbye. Just remember him for what he did, he's a bay area pioneer and he represented the bay to the fullest. He gave us plenty of music to listen to and new slang. So just keep my cutty alive, that's all I can ever ask. Bump his music, always shout him out.
On November 1st, 2004, the entire Hip-Hop and rap world experienced such a great loss, that we are all still shaken, and we are all still feeling the void left behind after Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was so abruptly taken from us. Our “Young Black Brother” was violently gunned down on a Kansas City, Mo. freeway, and the details of his murder are as unclear today as they were on that early morning on Highway 71 near 85th Street. What we do know is that a another car pulled up along the drivers side of the vehicle that Mac Dre was a passenger in and opened fire. The driver of the Mac Dre’s vehicle swerved to the right, crossed the center median and went through oncoming southbound traffic, into a ravine. The passenger in the car was killed, but it wasn’t known whether Mac Dre’s fatal wounds occurred as a result of the gun battle or as a result of the crash into the ravine.
And we lost another.
And as before, with Tupac, and with Biggie…this murder also goes unresolved.
Everyone that I know was in disbelief and denial. After all, wasn’t during the famous “Mac Dre” month long birthday party…rumors of his death were constant and greatly exaggerated ? Everyone I know has a “Mac Dre” slang or story, or a “Mac Dre” move that they constantly imitated…or their favorite “Mac Dre” line or rhyme. Unfortunately, the press, when they did decide to take note of our communitie’s loss, only did so to comment on Mac Dre’s affiliation with “The Romper Room gang”, in an attempt to imply that somehow Mac Dre’s death was retribution for past sins.
So I felt the need to set his record straight.
Jamal “J-Digg$” Diggs was a lifelong friend, label mate, partner in rhyme and cellmate of Mac Dre. I have heard many rumors and stories about the man Andre Hicks, and the living legend known as Mac Dre. I know of only one man who witnessed the birth, growth and rise of the bay Area par pioneer, and his version is the one I feel is worth hearing. So I sat down with J-Digg$, and we crossed into the memories that made up the complete story of the Life and times of “Mac Dre”.
Will: Tell us about how you met Mac Dre
J: We go back to kids. Basically Dre is from Vallejo and Vallejo is broke into sides. Dre is originally from a side of Vallejo called Greer side. Even before Dre was really close to me he was close to my little cousin Kilo. We just basically started off running together as youngsters. Grew up running around the neighborhood with radios and became close. You know how kids are, you start off just as friends in the streets and ending up growing up together and becoming a crew. So we've been knowing each other for a long time.
916: So you pretty much came up in the Crest
J: Country Club Crest. Dre is one of the guys that made that neighborhood famous, what it is today. He was the first rapper to put the neighborhood on the map. Then it was Mac Dre and then came Mac Mal. Me and Dre came from the same crew so we were a lot closer. We all had a passion for music but Dre was like the rapper in the group. He was the one that really had the heart. I was a rapper too but Dre was the one who was really all that when we were young. So he was like the spokesman of the crew when it came to speaking on the microphone. In '88/'89 Dre dropped his first album Young Black Brother that was the one that opened it up. Everybody knew this is Dre, this is the Romper Room Crew, this is where they're from. He opened the doors for a lot of Bay Area rappers.
916: As far as California goes, I think The Crest and maybe South Central Los Angeles have the highest concentration of rappers on the West Coast.
J: Statistically you probably can't find another neighborhood in this country with as many guys with albums out as the Crest. For a small neighborhood we have somewhere in the teens the number of artists with albums out. It started out from basically one rapper.
916: I got a challenge for you, name them.
J: Crest side rappers? I'll just go off the head. We started originally with the Mac, Mike Robinson. Then it was Mac Dre, Mac Mal, Dubee Sugawolf Pimp, PSD the Driver, Coolio Da Underdog, The Killa Team. Dre was a pioneer. It was funny because Dre turned into a character. When he first came into the game Dre was a more serious rapper. Prior to us going to jail, then we came home and Dre kind of loosened up and got more into the party feel. He really turned it into a whole party groove. That's why people liked him. He made the kind of music people could have fun to. He made his own language, his own terminology, he was a pioneer. That's why so many people loved and respected him. Because he basically set the tone for his own standard of music, his own style. A lot of people look at E-40 as the Bay Area ambassador period. The truth is Dre is the real pioneer to Vallejo music and 40 got the notoriety because he ended up signing a deal. But in all actuality that deal was in our face prior to 40 getting it. 40 got the major deal in the early 90's that Mac Dre should've got had we not went to prison, honestly. But it happened, 40 that's my dude and I congratulate him to the fullest. But if you find another artist out that's been in the game as long as Dre. That's put out literally 26 or 27 albums over a 15 year period. We really showed the music game that we street dudes went to prison, we lost our life as a crew. Young dudes, 17, 18, and 19 years old we went to jail. At the time young dudes really weren't into what we were into. We started robbing banks when we were basically kids. Bank robberies were unheard of, dudes didn't have the heart to even think about running into a bank. And we were young dudes that said we're going to try something. Dre got caught into something and he never got the chance to set the record straight. Dre did 5 years in the federal pen for basically keeping his mouth closed. Dre was a good friend to me.
916: Talk to me about that because I know what kind of man Dre was. The story about that is a text-book lesson in being a stand up man.
J: We were 19 years old and we got set into a situation where you had to say this is what's it going to be. Either it's going to be man or mouse. We got put into a position where we sat before a 12 man jury and a trial. The DA came to Dre and told Dre we know you're not robbing banks, all we need you to do is tell us that Diggs and Nelson are robbing these banks and you can walk home. Dre had to make a decision to be a stand up street guy or be a rat basically. And he chose to be a man to his
Xx
crew and he went to a trial he never should've been a part of. Dre rode with me and Kilo to Fresno and I had intentions to do what I was doing. But Dre was actually going out there to visit some female. He was my homeboy riding with us and he got caught into a conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery that he never had a part of. Subsequently Dre ended up doing five years in the federal pen for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery for riding to Fresno with two of his friends. Instead of rolling over and saying yeah that's what they were going to do, Dre rode it out and went to trial was found guilty and lost his life to the federal pen because of his dudes.
916: So what was the plan when you two both got out of prison?
J: We came home, sat down, and talked about what we've been through. We talked about what we wanted to do and that's what we did. That's all we did was make music, have fun, and try to take this record company to the next level. I'm not from Sacramento, I came to Sacramento because of Mac Dre. I moved in a house with him, we lived together. We got up every morning, we'd smoke a joint and ride and talk about what we had to do for our label. This was our life, this is why I came to Sacramento and I'm here. I'm living in the same apartment he left me at and I didn't know anything about Sac. But I'm here now, Dre brought me out here and we have a goal with our company now. It's still thiz or die, they have a lot more dudes they have to kill as far as I'm concerned. Now it's like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. We're going to make it happen, we're going to ride on for Dre. I get a lot of letters and phone calls. That dude was respected like you couldn't believe for being a real street dude. It hurt to know that it happened like that. It more than anything with me because anybody that knows me and Dre knows we're normally always together. And the day that he went to Kansas City I was supposed to be there with Dre. I didn't go to Kansas City because I had a court date in Vallejo. I was debating if I should miss court and get a warrant but I didn't. When I got that phone call the next morning it was like a piece of me was just gone. I'm supposed to be there with this dude. That's my job as a friend, as his cutty. We go together, we be together. I can't say that it wouldn't have happened but who's to say that we would've been in that car. Dre is not normally by himself. There's a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of things that could've happened. It also goes back to certain things happen for a reason. I can't really say why the called the cutty home but he's gone. But he left us something to work with and we're working with it. That dude is going to be missed and loved forever. A lot of people say Tupac or Biggie is the best rapper alive. But to me Mac Dre is the greatest rapper ever. He did it on a whole other level like a lot of dudes couldn't do it. And he did it without the man power and without the money. He did it strictly off his voice and street credibility.
916: Can you set the record straight about what happened that night for those with only half the story?
J. That's basically up for the law to determine. It's not for me to say who did what. All I can say is that it happened and somehow it's getting dealt with. Whether it be by the police or by the streets. I can't speak on exactly what happened but it shouldn't have happened period. Nobody was looking for Dre, he didn't have a hit on him or any of that. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right after, I flew to Kansas City, I was on the first thing smoking. And the one thing that pissed me off was the media after talking about the shooting immediately went into he did prison time and ran with bank robbers. Instead of talking about how he was an influential underground artist. It was like they were saying it was okay he got killed because he's a bad guy. Like it was his own fault he was shot. But that's the media and that's what we have to deal with. I'm doing a lot better, I took it really hard. I took it personal. I had to do a lot of soul searching myself. I didn't just lose a friend, I lost a part of me. He left a legacy for his daughter which is like my daughter too, Drenae. She's been left with something to carry on. He only had one child, his daughter Drenae Hicks.
916: Tell us about the future of Mac Dre records. What are you doing?
J: Our roster is not going to do anything but get bigger. I named the guys that's in our camp and that's just another way of dedicating all our loyalty to Dre. It's going to be Mac Dre records we taking this camp. It's just a branch inside the Thiz Film and Music. You never really know how famous you are until you're gone. So of course Thiz Film and Music is bigger than it's ever been right now. We're pulling in artists that are goin to represent this label to the fullest. A lot of cats know Mac Mal is part of our camp, he signed with Thiz. The next project is we actually have a Mac Mal and Mac Dre album finished, ready to hit the streets. It should be out in another month and a half. We have Thiz mix tapes, we took everyone's beats and put the thiz twist on them. We got Trill TV too that's edited and ready to hit the streets.
916: Let the readers know how you want him to be remembered.
J: I want him to be remembered just the way he was. When you see Dre you just think hyphy, he was a hyphy dude that made you smile. Just keep the slang, everybody knew how we talked. It's going to be Mac Dre forever, we got over 30 Mac Dre releases on the shelf right now. Knock the music, they know what it is. If you came to the wake or the funeral you could see the love that Dre got. Over 6 thousand people in a 4 0r 5 hour period came out just for the wake to say goodbye. Just remember him for what he did, he's a bay area pioneer and he represented the bay to the fullest. He gave us plenty of music to listen to and new slang. So just keep my cutty alive, that's all I can ever ask. Bump his music, always shout him out.
On November 1st, 2004, the entire Hip-Hop and rap world experienced such a great loss, that we are all still shaken, and we are all still feeling the void left behind after Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was so abruptly taken from us. Our “Young Black Brother” was violently gunned down on a Kansas City, Mo. freeway, and the details of his murder are as unclear today as they were on that early morning on Highway 71 near 85th Street. What we do know is that a another car pulled up along the drivers side of the vehicle that Mac Dre was a passenger in and opened fire. The driver of the Mac Dre’s vehicle swerved to the right, crossed the center median and went through oncoming southbound traffic, into a ravine. The passenger in the car was killed, but it wasn’t known whether Mac Dre’s fatal wounds occurred as a result of the gun battle or as a result of the crash into the ravine.
And we lost another.
And as before, with Tupac, and with Biggie…this murder also goes unresolved.
Everyone that I know was in disbelief and denial. After all, wasn’t during the famous “Mac Dre” month long birthday party…rumors of his death were constant and greatly exaggerated ? Everyone I know has a “Mac Dre” slang or story, or a “Mac Dre” move that they constantly imitated…or their favorite “Mac Dre” line or rhyme. Unfortunately, the press, when they did decide to take note of our communitie’s loss, only did so to comment on Mac Dre’s affiliation with “The Romper Room gang”, in an attempt to imply that somehow Mac Dre’s death was retribution for past sins.
So I felt the need to set his record straight.
Jamal “J-Digg$” Diggs was a lifelong friend, label mate, partner in rhyme and cellmate of Mac Dre. I have heard many rumors and stories about the man Andre Hicks, and the living legend known as Mac Dre. I know of only one man who witnessed the birth, growth and rise of the bay Area par pioneer, and his version is the one I feel is worth hearing. So I sat down with J-Digg$, and we crossed into the memories that made up the complete story of the Life and times of “Mac Dre”.
Will: Tell us about how you met Mac Dre
J: We go back to kids. Basically Dre is from Vallejo and Vallejo is broke into sides. Dre is originally from a side of Vallejo called Greer side. Even before Dre was really close to me he was close to my little cousin Kilo. We just basically started off running together as youngsters. Grew up running around the neighborhood with radios and became close. You know how kids are, you start off just as friends in the streets and ending up growing up together and becoming a crew. So we've been knowing each other for a long time.
916: So you pretty much came up in the Crest
J: Country Club Crest. Dre is one of the guys that made that neighborhood famous, what it is today. He was the first rapper to put the neighborhood on the map. Then it was Mac Dre and then came Mac Mal. Me and Dre came from the same crew so we were a lot closer. We all had a passion for music but Dre was like the rapper in the group. He was the one that really had the heart. I was a rapper too but Dre was the one who was really all that when we were young. So he was like the spokesman of the crew when it came to speaking on the microphone. In '88/'89 Dre dropped his first album Young Black Brother that was the one that opened it up. Everybody knew this is Dre, this is the Romper Room Crew, this is where they're from. He opened the doors for a lot of Bay Area rappers.
916: As far as California goes, I think The Crest and maybe South Central Los Angeles have the highest concentration of rappers on the West Coast.
J: Statistically you probably can't find another neighborhood in this country with as many guys with albums out as the Crest. For a small neighborhood we have somewhere in the teens the number of artists with albums out. It started out from basically one rapper.
916: I got a challenge for you, name them.
J: Crest side rappers? I'll just go off the head. We started originally with the Mac, Mike Robinson. Then it was Mac Dre, Mac Mal, Dubee Sugawolf Pimp, PSD the Driver, Coolio Da Underdog, The Killa Team. Dre was a pioneer. It was funny because Dre turned into a character. When he first came into the game Dre was a more serious rapper. Prior to us going to jail, then we came home and Dre kind of loosened up and got more into the party feel. He really turned it into a whole party groove. That's why people liked him. He made the kind of music people could have fun to. He made his own language, his own terminology, he was a pioneer. That's why so many people loved and respected him. Because he basically set the tone for his own standard of music, his own style. A lot of people look at E-40 as the Bay Area ambassador period. The truth is Dre is the real pioneer to Vallejo music and 40 got the notoriety because he ended up signing a deal. But in all actuality that deal was in our face prior to 40 getting it. 40 got the major deal in the early 90's that Mac Dre should've got had we not went to prison, honestly. But it happened, 40 that's my dude and I congratulate him to the fullest. But if you find another artist out that's been in the game as long as Dre. That's put out literally 26 or 27 albums over a 15 year period. We really showed the music game that we street dudes went to prison, we lost our life as a crew. Young dudes, 17, 18, and 19 years old we went to jail. At the time young dudes really weren't into what we were into. We started robbing banks when we were basically kids. Bank robberies were unheard of, dudes didn't have the heart to even think about running into a bank. And we were young dudes that said we're going to try something. Dre got caught into something and he never got the chance to set the record straight. Dre did 5 years in the federal pen for basically keeping his mouth closed. Dre was a good friend to me.
916: Talk to me about that because I know what kind of man Dre was. The story about that is a text-book lesson in being a stand up man.
J: We were 19 years old and we got set into a situation where you had to say this is what's it going to be. Either it's going to be man or mouse. We got put into a position where we sat before a 12 man jury and a trial. The DA came to Dre and told Dre we know you're not robbing banks, all we need you to do is tell us that Diggs and Nelson are robbing these banks and you can walk home. Dre had to make a decision to be a stand up street guy or be a rat basically. And he chose to be a man to his
Xx
crew and he went to a trial he never should've been a part of. Dre rode with me and Kilo to Fresno and I had intentions to do what I was doing. But Dre was actually going out there to visit some female. He was my homeboy riding with us and he got caught into a conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery that he never had a part of. Subsequently Dre ended up doing five years in the federal pen for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery for riding to Fresno with two of his friends. Instead of rolling over and saying yeah that's what they were going to do, Dre rode it out and went to trial was found guilty and lost his life to the federal pen because of his dudes.
916: So what was the plan when you two both got out of prison?
J: We came home, sat down, and talked about what we've been through. We talked about what we wanted to do and that's what we did. That's all we did was make music, have fun, and try to take this record company to the next level. I'm not from Sacramento, I came to Sacramento because of Mac Dre. I moved in a house with him, we lived together. We got up every morning, we'd smoke a joint and ride and talk about what we had to do for our label. This was our life, this is why I came to Sacramento and I'm here. I'm living in the same apartment he left me at and I didn't know anything about Sac. But I'm here now, Dre brought me out here and we have a goal with our company now. It's still thiz or die, they have a lot more dudes they have to kill as far as I'm concerned. Now it's like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. We're going to make it happen, we're going to ride on for Dre. I get a lot of letters and phone calls. That dude was respected like you couldn't believe for being a real street dude. It hurt to know that it happened like that. It more than anything with me because anybody that knows me and Dre knows we're normally always together. And the day that he went to Kansas City I was supposed to be there with Dre. I didn't go to Kansas City because I had a court date in Vallejo. I was debating if I should miss court and get a warrant but I didn't. When I got that phone call the next morning it was like a piece of me was just gone. I'm supposed to be there with this dude. That's my job as a friend, as his cutty. We go together, we be together. I can't say that it wouldn't have happened but who's to say that we would've been in that car. Dre is not normally by himself. There's a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of things that could've happened. It also goes back to certain things happen for a reason. I can't really say why the called the cutty home but he's gone. But he left us something to work with and we're working with it. That dude is going to be missed and loved forever. A lot of people say Tupac or Biggie is the best rapper alive. But to me Mac Dre is the greatest rapper ever. He did it on a whole other level like a lot of dudes couldn't do it. And he did it without the man power and without the money. He did it strictly off his voice and street credibility.
916: Can you set the record straight about what happened that night for those with only half the story?
J. That's basically up for the law to determine. It's not for me to say who did what. All I can say is that it happened and somehow it's getting dealt with. Whether it be by the police or by the streets. I can't speak on exactly what happened but it shouldn't have happened period. Nobody was looking for Dre, he didn't have a hit on him or any of that. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right after, I flew to Kansas City, I was on the first thing smoking. And the one thing that pissed me off was the media after talking about the shooting immediately went into he did prison time and ran with bank robbers. Instead of talking about how he was an influential underground artist. It was like they were saying it was okay he got killed because he's a bad guy. Like it was his own fault he was shot. But that's the media and that's what we have to deal with. I'm doing a lot better, I took it really hard. I took it personal. I had to do a lot of soul searching myself. I didn't just lose a friend, I lost a part of me. He left a legacy for his daughter which is like my daughter too, Drenae. She's been left with something to carry on. He only had one child, his daughter Drenae Hicks.
916: Tell us about the future of Mac Dre records. What are you doing?
J: Our roster is not going to do anything but get bigger. I named the guys that's in our camp and that's just another way of dedicating all our loyalty to Dre. It's going to be Mac Dre records we taking this camp. It's just a branch inside the Thiz Film and Music. You never really know how famous you are until you're gone. So of course Thiz Film and Music is bigger than it's ever been right now. We're pulling in artists that are goin to represent this label to the fullest. A lot of cats know Mac Mal is part of our camp, he signed with Thiz. The next project is we actually have a Mac Mal and Mac Dre album finished, ready to hit the streets. It should be out in another month and a half. We have Thiz mix tapes, we took everyone's beats and put the thiz twist on them. We got Trill TV too that's edited and ready to hit the streets.
916: Let the readers know how you want him to be remembered.
J: I want him to be remembered just the way he was. When you see Dre you just think hyphy, he was a hyphy dude that made you smile. Just keep the slang, everybody knew how we talked. It's going to be Mac Dre forever, we got over 30 Mac Dre releases on the shelf right now. Knock the music, they know what it is. If you came to the wake or the funeral you could see the love that Dre got. Over 6 thousand people in a 4 0r 5 hour period came out just for the wake to say goodbye. Just remember him for what he did, he's a bay area pioneer and he represented the bay to the fullest. He gave us plenty of music to listen to and new slang. So just keep my cutty alive, that's all I can ever ask. Bump his music, always shout him On November 1st, 2004, the entire Hip-Hop and rap world experienced such a great loss, that we are all still shaken, and we are all still feeling the void left behind after Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was so abruptly taken from us. Our “Young Black Brother” was violently gunned down on a Kansas City, Mo. freeway, and the details of his murder are as unclear today as they were on that early morning on Highway 71 near 85th Street. What we do know is that a another car pulled up along the drivers side of the vehicle that Mac Dre was a passenger in and opened fire. The driver of the Mac Dre’s vehicle swerved to the right, crossed the center median and went through oncoming southbound traffic, into a ravine. The passenger in the car was killed, but it wasn’t known whether Mac Dre’s fatal wounds occurred as a result of the gun battle or as a result of the crash into the ravine.
And we lost another.
And as before, with Tupac, and with Biggie…this murder also goes unresolved.
Everyone that I know was in disbelief and denial. After all, wasn’t during the famous “Mac Dre” month long birthday party…rumors of his death were constant and greatly exaggerated ? Everyone I know has a “Mac Dre” slang or story, or a “Mac Dre” move that they constantly imitated…or their favorite “Mac Dre” line or rhyme. Unfortunately, the press, when they did decide to take note of our communitie’s loss, only did so to comment on Mac Dre’s affiliation with “The Romper Room gang”, in an attempt to imply that somehow Mac Dre’s death was retribution for past sins.
So I felt the need to set his record straight.
Jamal “J-Digg$” Diggs was a lifelong friend, label mate, partner in rhyme and cellmate of Mac Dre. I have heard many rumors and stories about the man Andre Hicks, and the living legend known as Mac Dre. I know of only one man who witnessed the birth, growth and rise of the bay Area par pioneer, and his version is the one I feel is worth hearing. So I sat down with J-Digg$, and we crossed into the memories that made up the complete story of the Life and times of “Mac Dre”.
Will: Tell us about how you met Mac Dre
J: We go back to kids. Basically Dre is from Vallejo and Vallejo is broke into sides. Dre is originally from a side of Vallejo called Greer side. Even before Dre was really close to me he was close to my little cousin Kilo. We just basically started off running together as youngsters. Grew up running around the neighborhood with radios and became close. You know how kids are, you start off just as friends in the streets and ending up growing up together and becoming a crew. So we've been knowing each other for a long time.
916: So you pretty much came up in the Crest
J: Country Club Crest. Dre is one of the guys that made that neighborhood famous, what it is today. He was the first rapper to put the neighborhood on the map. Then it was Mac Dre and then came Mac Mal. Me and Dre came from the same crew so we were a lot closer. We all had a passion for music but Dre was like the rapper in the group. He was the one that really had the heart. I was a rapper too but Dre was the one who was really all that when we were young. So he was like the spokesman of the crew when it came to speaking on the microphone. In '88/'89 Dre dropped his first album Young Black Brother that was the one that opened it up. Everybody knew this is Dre, this is the Romper Room Crew, this is where they're from. He opened the doors for a lot of Bay Area rappers.
916: As far as California goes, I think The Crest and maybe South Central Los Angeles have the highest concentration of rappers on the West Coast.
J: Statistically you probably can't find another neighborhood in this country with as many guys with albums out as the Crest. For a small neighborhood we have somewhere in the teens the number of artists with albums out. It started out from basically one rapper.
916: I got a challenge for you, name them.
J: Crest side rappers? I'll just go off the head. We started originally with the Mac, Mike Robinson. Then it was Mac Dre, Mac Mal, Dubee Sugawolf Pimp, PSD the Driver, Coolio Da Underdog, The Killa Team. Dre was a pioneer. It was funny because Dre turned into a character. When he first came into the game Dre was a more serious rapper. Prior to us going to jail, then we came home and Dre kind of loosened up and got more into the party feel. He really turned it into a whole party groove. That's why people liked him. He made the kind of music people could have fun to. He made his own language, his own terminology, he was a pioneer. That's why so many people loved and respected him. Because he basically set the tone for his own standard of music, his own style. A lot of people look at E-40 as the Bay Area ambassador period. The truth is Dre is the real pioneer to Vallejo music and 40 got the notoriety because he ended up signing a deal. But in all actuality that deal was in our face prior to 40 getting it. 40 got the major deal in the early 90's that Mac Dre should've got had we not went to prison, honestly. But it happened, 40 that's my dude and I congratulate him to the fullest. But if you find another artist out that's been in the game as long as Dre. That's put out literally 26 or 27 albums over a 15 year period. We really showed the music game that we street dudes went to prison, we lost our life as a crew. Young dudes, 17, 18, and 19 years old we went to jail. At the time young dudes really weren't into what we were into. We started robbing banks when we were basically kids. Bank robberies were unheard of, dudes didn't have the heart to even think about running into a bank. And we were young dudes that said we're going to try something. Dre got caught into something and he never got the chance to set the record straight. Dre did 5 years in the federal pen for basically keeping his mouth closed. Dre was a good friend to me.
916: Talk to me about that because I know what kind of man Dre was. The story about that is a text-book lesson in being a stand up man.
J: We were 19 years old and we got set into a situation where you had to say this is what's it going to be. Either it's going to be man or mouse. We got put into a position where we sat before a 12 man jury and a trial. The DA came to Dre and told Dre we know you're not robbing banks, all we need you to do is tell us that Diggs and Nelson are robbing these banks and you can walk home. Dre had to make a decision to be a stand up street guy or be a rat basically. And he chose to be a man to his
Xx
crew and he went to a trial he never should've been a part of. Dre rode with me and Kilo to Fresno and I had intentions to do what I was doing. But Dre was actually going out there to visit some female. He was my homeboy riding with us and he got caught into a conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery that he never had a part of. Subsequently Dre ended up doing five years in the federal pen for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery for riding to Fresno with two of his friends. Instead of rolling over and saying yeah that's what they were going to do, Dre rode it out and went to trial was found guilty and lost his life to the federal pen because of his dudes.
916: So what was the plan when you two both got out of prison?
J: We came home, sat down, and talked about what we've been through. We talked about what we wanted to do and that's what we did. That's all we did was make music, have fun, and try to take this record company to the next level. I'm not from Sacramento, I came to Sacramento because of Mac Dre. I moved in a house with him, we lived together. We got up every morning, we'd smoke a joint and ride and talk about what we had to do for our label. This was our life, this is why I came to Sacramento and I'm here. I'm living in the same apartment he left me at and I didn't know anything about Sac. But I'm here now, Dre brought me out here and we have a goal with our company now. It's still thiz or die, they have a lot more dudes they have to kill as far as I'm concerned. Now it's like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders. We're going to make it happen, we're going to ride on for Dre. I get a lot of letters and phone calls. That dude was respected like you couldn't believe for being a real street dude. It hurt to know that it happened like that. It more than anything with me because anybody that knows me and Dre knows we're normally always together. And the day that he went to Kansas City I was supposed to be there with Dre. I didn't go to Kansas City because I had a court date in Vallejo. I was debating if I should miss court and get a warrant but I didn't. When I got that phone call the next morning it was like a piece of me was just gone. I'm supposed to be there with this dude. That's my job as a friend, as his cutty. We go together, we be together. I can't say that it wouldn't have happened but who's to say that we would've been in that car. Dre is not normally by himself. There's a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of things that could've happened. It also goes back to certain things happen for a reason. I can't really say why the called the cutty home but he's gone. But he left us something to work with and we're working with it. That dude is going to be missed and loved forever. A lot of people say Tupac or Biggie is the best rapper alive. But to me Mac Dre is the greatest rapper ever. He did it on a whole other level like a lot of dudes couldn't do it. And he did it without the man power and without the money. He did it strictly off his voice and street credibility.
916: Can you set the record straight about what happened that night for those with only half the story?
J. That's basically up for the law to determine. It's not for me to say who did what. All I can say is that it happened and somehow it's getting dealt with. Whether it be by the police or by the streets. I can't speak on exactly what happened but it shouldn't have happened period. Nobody was looking for Dre, he didn't have a hit on him or any of that. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right after, I flew to Kansas City, I was on the first thing smoking. And the one thing that pissed me off was the media after talking about the shooting immediately went into he did prison time and ran with bank robbers. Instead of talking about how he was an influential underground artist. It was like they were saying it was okay he got killed because he's a bad guy. Like it was his own fault he was shot. But that's the media and that's what we have to deal with. I'm doing a lot better, I took it really hard. I took it personal. I had to do a lot of soul searching myself. I didn't just lose a friend, I lost a part of me. He left a legacy for his daughter which is like my daughter too, Drenae. She's been left with something to carry on. He only had one child, his daughter Drenae Hicks.
916: Tell us about the future of Mac Dre records. What are you doing?
J: Our roster is not going to do anything but get bigger. I named the guys that's in our camp and that's just another way of dedicating all our loyalty to Dre. It's going to be Mac Dre records we taking this camp. It's just a branch inside the Thiz Film and Music. You never really know how famous you are until you're gone. So of course Thiz Film and Music is bigger than it's ever been right now. We're pulling in artists that are goin to represent this label to the fullest. A lot of cats know Mac Mal is part of our camp, he s