{"id":458661,"date":"2026-09-09T22:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T22:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458661\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T22:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T22:18:09","slug":"mac-dre-will-get-a-vallejo-street-named-in-his-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458661\/","title":{"rendered":"Mac Dre Will Get a Vallejo Street Named in His Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Bay Area hip-hop, few artists loom as large as Mac Dre<\/a>, the late Vallejo rapper who helped inspire the hyphy<\/a> movement and create the region\u2019s signature sound.<\/p>\n

Now, Mac Dre will soon have a street named after him. On Sept. 8, the Vallejo City Council voted unanimously to rename Taper Avenue in Vallejo\u2019s Crestside neighborhood Mac Dre Way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about damn time,\u201d said Vallejo Vice Mayor Diosdado \u201cJ.R.\u201d Matulac at the unusually lively city council meeting.<\/p>\n

Ray Luv, a hip-hop artist and the chief of operations at Mac Dre\u2019s estate, described the honorary street renaming as a major milestone for Vallejo hip-hop and Black culture more broadly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMac Dre is one of the founders. When Mac Dre came onto the scene in the late \u201980s, it was maybe less than a dozen record labels in the Bay Area that focused on rap,\u201d Ray Luv told KQED in a phone call. \u201cHe helped to pave the way for kids from the 707, from the Bay area. And he was able to make his mark internationally, as far away as Amsterdam. They celebrate Mac Dre Day all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mac Dre, born Andre Hicks in 1970, was a major influence on prominent Bay Area rappers during the \u201990s and 2000s, including Mistah F.A.B. and Mac Mall<\/a>. He also inspired the Bay Area\u2019s next generation<\/a> of hitmakers, including P-Lo and Karri. Earlier this year, the two produced Drake\u2019s \u201c2 Hard 4 the Radio,\u201d which heavily samples Mac Dre\u2019s 1989 song \u201c2 Hard 4 the Fuckin\u2019 Radio,\u201d which launched his career as a teenager.<\/p>\n

Two decades after his untimely death in a 2004 Kansas City shooting, Mac Dre\u2019s hits, including \u201cFeelin\u2019 Myself\u201d and \u201cThizzelle Dance,\u201d remain in heavy rotation at Bay Area nightclubs and sports stadiums. For many fans, who\u2019ve made countless tributes through artwork, tattoos and murals, Mac Dre represents freedom, self-expression and being unafraid to \u201cdance a little different,\u201d as he famously rapped on \u201cGet Stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMac Dre is a person that \u2014\u00a0people would come to his concerts, watch his videos and listen to his music, and they felt welcome,\u201d Ray Luv said. \u201cThey felt invited. They did not feel \u2018other\u2019 when they were around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aA Mac Dre mural on Foothill Boulevard in Oakland by artist Chez.\u00a0(Laurence Madrigal\/We Were Hyphy)<\/p>\n

According to a petition for the commemorative street renaming filed by Miami the Most, an artist signed to Mac Dre\u2019s Thizz Entertainment record label, the intersection of Taper Avenue and Amelia Street was the location of Mac Dre\u2019s childhood home, and he made his earliest music there.<\/p>\n

The renaming makes Mac Dre the latest in a line of Bay Area hip-hop icons who\u2019ve had streets renamed in their honor, including E-40<\/a>, Too $hort<\/a> and Tupac<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Tuesday night Vallejo City Council meeting drew dozens of supporters who spoke in favor of the renaming during the 42 minutes of public comment. Those included Tom Pangelinan, a local coach; Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James, whose district includes North Vallejo; and artists, rappers and managers who either worked with or were inspired by Mac Dre.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ask me, \u2018What is it that\u2019s so great about Vallejo?\u2019 This! It\u2019s that intangible, it\u2019s that community, it\u2019s everybody showing up,\u201d Mayor Andrea Sorce remarked, before taking a selfie with the large crowd.<\/p>\n

Mac Mall was among the community supporters. \u201cAndre Hicks was a selfless person,\u201d he said. \u201cHe helped start my career, and helped countless young people get their start in the music business, and be able to change their lives and provide for their family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

A date for the street renaming ceremony has not yet been set.<\/p>\n

Gabe Meline contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Bay Area hip-hop, few artists loom as large as Mac Dre, the late Vallejo rapper who helped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-458661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}