#TBT: Mac Dre

One fall day in 2006, national treasure Marshawn Lynch was seen whipping an injury cart in a herky-jerky fashion across the Cal Bears field following a particularly sweet victory. This expression of pure joy would not have been possible without Mac Dre.

Hailing from the land of "Valley Joe," Mac Dre professional rapped for nearly twenty years but didn't gain widespread recognition until the very end of his career and after his death. He was gunned down in Kansas City in 2004, an unsolved murder case that remains the great tragedy of Bay Area rap. The silver lining is that hyphy movement was about to explode, and he would be its patron saint. 

Click through the image gallery to revisit some of the best songs from Mac Dre aka the Cold Crest Creeper aka Pill Clinton aka Thizzelle Washington aka Ronald Dregan.

“Stupid Doo Doo Dumb” feat. Mac Mall | Stupid Doo Doo Dumb (1998)

Stupid Doo Doo Dumb was the first album Mac Dre released after a five-year stint in jail. The title track features a beat that can only be described as thicc, and was well ahead of its time despite the line "happy as a faggot in a trench full of dicks."

“Life’s a Bitch” | Stupid Doo Doo Dumb (1998)

Mac Dre possessed the storytelling savvy of Shakespeare and the poetic instincts of Keats. On "Life's a Bitch," he proclaims that he was wrongfully convicted and should never have been imprisoned: “They sent me to the pen for five years for a crime that was never committed / I ain’t no bank robber but those five years had me thinking I should have did it.”

“Shakin The Feds” feat. Goldie | Mac Dre's The Name (2001)

Despite a healthy dose of Dre's characteristically colorful and light-hearted wordplay ("Orville Redenbacher, couldn't be more butter"), "Shakin The Feds" finds the Cold Crest Creeper ready to ride or die. "Slit my throat if you ever see me faking," he tells the listener. 

“Thizzle Dance” | Thizzelle Washington (2002)

Though "Thizzle Dance" is an ode to Mac Dre's drug of choice, thizz (ecstasy), it is inclusive to drug-imbibers and drug-abstainers alike, so long as they follow the song's simple steps: "First, I do like this, put a look on my face like I smelled some piss."

“Feelin Myself” | Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics (2004)

Mac Dre liked to start tracks with somber and/or classical music before busting straight into the funk. "Stupid Doo Doo Dumb" is an early example. The best-known example is "Feelin Myself."

“Get Stupid” | Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics (2004)

In an interview with HNHH, veteran producer Focus... explained that Mac Dre rapped on the beat that would become "Get Stupid" because he thought Dr. Dre made it. The song was already a massive hit in the Bay Area before Focus... heard it or even knew about it:

"A friend of mine by the name of Don Cannon was rocking the song in the Bay, and he was like, ‘Yo, you got a hit out here,’ and he played it. He was onstage and I heard the people singing the song, and I was losing my mind. But I didn’t even know he did the record. And I never got to meet him because he passed soon after."

“Since 84” | Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics (2004)

Somewhat lost in the shuffle of Mac Dre's certified hyphy anthems is "Since 84," "another knocker" that could have easily been a #1 single in the hands of someone like Ludacris. Mac Dre: too hard for the radio.

“Early Retirement” | The Genie of the Lamp (2004)

Surely one of the greatest Bay blappers ever created, "Early Retirement" dated itself as soon as Mac Dre introduced yet another alter-ego: Dre Bledsoe.

“She Neva Seen”  | The Genie of the Lamp (2004)

Writing instructors tend to harp on the importance of a good hook. Does a hook finer than the first four lines of "She Neva Seen" exist? Observe: 

"It was a hot night in August, humid
Hit the store to get some O.J. to shroom with
Ooh, shitty, I'm in the world's biggest little city
Seen a girl with some big ass titties"

“Not My Job” | The Genie of the Lamp (2004)

"Not My Job" is a nice distillation of Mac Dre as "pimp-slash-rapper." "I can bust you a rap, but anything else is not my job," he explains mater of factly. "I can make you a slap, but anything else is not my job." It's his way of pledging his allegiance to his fans while simultaneously declaring his agency to do whatever the hell he wants.