Stephen Curry has signed on as a producer for a documentary about the late Bay Area rapper Mac Dre.
The Golden State Warriors point guard and his business partner, Erick Peyton, co-founder of Unanimous Media, are moving forward with the project with the blessing of Mac Dre’s mother, Wanda Salvatto.
The Oakland-born, Vallejo-raised rapper born Andre Hicks, who was shot to death at 34 in 2004 in Kansas City, Mo., was a significant figure in the regional hyphy movement, catapulting the phrase “hella” into the popular vernacular and turning out era-defining hits like “Feelin Myself,” “Get Stupid,” and “Make You Mine.”
“Mac Dre is a cultural icon who made a tremendous impact on the Bay Area and beyond through his music and pioneering creativity,” Curry and Peyton said in a statement to Billboard. “We’re honored to work with Mac Dre’s incredible mother, Wanda, to tell her son’s life story with respect and dignity for fans, the Bay Area community, and music lovers alike.”
Talk of a documentary about the slain rapper first emerged in 2016, when Drake brought Salvatto onstage at Oracle Arena and spoke about how much Mac Dre influenced his work. Curry was also a guest at that show.
Hicks led a multifaceted life marked by both criminal activity and musical triumph. Early on, he was linked to a notorious Vallejo gang, suspected of various bank robberies and pizza parlor heists in the early 1990s.
Yet, his music career started taking root even as he faced legal issues. During a five-year prison sentence for a bank robbery conspiracy in Fresno, Hicks audaciously recorded a single using a jailhouse phone, openly mocking the law enforcement officers responsible for his incarceration.
Upon his release in 1996, Mac Dre delved into a prolific music career, releasing more than 20 albums and gaining recognition on hip-hop radio stations such as KMEL.
His transformation was evident as he left behind his criminal past and began exploring political themes in his music. Hicks relocated to Sacramento, where he founded Thizz Entertainment and aspired to mentor teenagers away from the troubled life he once knew.
“I look forward to sharing how from Andre’s dreams of rapping emerged a blueprint that not only inspired a generation but also became a guide to conquering obstacles and fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams,” Salvatto told Billboard.