Former Vallejoan Andre Hicks, better known as rap artist Mac Dre, was killed early Monday in Kansas City, Mo., when the van he was riding in was shot at and the driver lost control and crashed. Kansas City Police Department homicide detective Steve Morgan said police weren't confirming Monday if Hicks, 34, was killed in the shooting or from being ejected from the car, though "both incidents occurred." The shooting occurred at about 5:30 a.m. as the white van with Hicks a passenger was northbound on U.S. 71, a four-lane highway running through the heart of town, the Kansas City Star reported. "Someone drove alongside the driver's side of the van, and an occupant began shooting," police told the Star. "That car also bumped the van. The victim's car careened across a grassy highway median and then the southbound lanes before crashing down a steep embankment." Police don't know or aren't yet saying if the incident was random or if Hicks was intentionally targeted. An investigation is under way, Morgan said. Hicks, the only one killed, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver apparently crawled out of the wreckage to get help, the Star reported. Hicks, a Sacramento resident, was in Kansas City over the weekend for a concert. He performed in Kansas City, Kan., Friday night, Morgan said. Mac Dre was a role model for young Vallejoans, though "not necessarily a positive one," said Peoples High School campus supervisor Shama Newton. "It's tragic. He was definitely a pioneer in Vallejo, for sure," said Newton, a local church pastor. "We've got to stop the violence. It's getting ridiculous. "He could have made a positive difference. His legacy could have been so much better. I've met him and he was a good person, but he felt he had to stay to the hype." Peoples Principal Latyna Young said learning of the rapper's death Monday added to her students' general anxiety. Peoples junior DaMont Robinson, 16, said he was a big Mac Dre fan. "This is a tragedy. He was a good rapper," Robinson said. "Anybody could listen to him and know where he was coming from." Vallejo native Joey Colombo, 21, said Mac Dre was his favorite rapper. "He was just crazy with his rhymes, and his beats were really good," Colombo said. "It's sad," said Tajeana Phillips, a 16-year-old Peoples junior. "I grew up with him. I live in the (Country Club) Crest (area of Vallejo). He made it better for the Crest. He showed us we could make it, that we could do it. It don't make sense." Randy Acosta, 17, a Peoples senior, said he was having trouble accepting the news of Mac Dre's death Monday afternoon. "I don't want to believe it. There's been rumors (of him dying) before that weren't true, so I didn't want to believe this. It's a tragedy. It's too much. Everyone was talking about it in school today, even the teachers. But I still don't believe it." That Hicks died violently might not come as much of a shock to those familiar with the gangsta rapper's history. Hicks was arrested in December 1991 at age 21 after a gas station shoot-out in which he was allegedly involved, along with five others. He served three years in prison for conspiracy and attempted bank robbery in Fresno, following an April 1992 arrest. Hicks' first album, "Young Black Brotha," was released that same year. Hicks was released from prison in February 1996. Hicks was linked to a rash of pizza restaurant robberies, along with a group dubbed the Romper Room Gang, as well as to a string of bank and credit union robberies that netted more than $1.5 million from more than 40 northern California institutions between 1995 and 1997. Ahmed and Rageh Almor-aissi, owners of the Double A Smokeshop on Tennessee Street, were shocked and saddened by the news. "We do business with Dre's' company, Thizz Entertainment. We know them. Somebody called me this morning and asked if it was true. I made some calls and found out it was. It's sad," said Rageh Almoraissi, 23, as Mac Dre's latest CD, "The Game is Thick Part 2," played in the background of the shop. "I can't believe it," Ahmed Almoraissi added. "I'm shocked. I listen to his music all the time." Mac Dre is the nephew of former City Councilmember Foster Hicks, who could not be reached for comment Monday. Mel Mitchell of Vallejo, 28, who said she's a distant Hicks relative, said the rapper led a roller coaster life. "He was not an angel," Mitchell said. "He had his fair share. But he did a lot for his community." McGuire said Mac Dre's killing is the second fatal shooting of a California rap artist in Kansas City this year. Rapper Ramone C. Davis, 31, of San Diego died March 22 when another man tried to rob him of 10 pounds of marijuana. A 27-year-old Kansas City man was later charged in the case.
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l| My World |l
by
Tech N9ne ft Brotha Lynch & Dalima