Again, say what you will, yet he didnt have any more of a cult following before his death than Jacka, Keak The Sneak or any noterized bay artist, at the time.
It seems you are picking up his career where Thizz starts off and overlooking Mac Dres early material, him putting out projects since 88, yet still never achieved breakthrough status on billboard, recieved major radio airplay, nor underscored shows with headline artists, unlike his contemporaries of the 90s.
Yes, Dre had a resurgence with Thizz, yet again home town locals look at Dres legacy a lil differant.
Its seems only his fans put this extras on who Mac Dre was where as his peers seem to paint a different picture.
Again, nobody was speaking on how great a MC or how influential he was until his death.
No Mac Dre and E-40 were undoubtedly the top people in the Bay Area. I don't know what the root of your perception but perhaps you weren't going around the right places. It was even noted that E-40 was biggest Bay Area artist outside of the Bay and Mac Dre was the biggest Bay Area artist inside of the Bay.
Mac Dre's earlier material was solid in a more conventional way. His debut album
Young Black Brotha was put out by Khayree, in an entirely different era and with an entirely different style - he didn't even have a comparable voice (through his career span there are three stylistic incarnations of Mac Dre's style, these were full on artistic reinventions - which is the epitome of artistry, and shows exception adaption prowess) . The EP was out prior but the LP didn't come out until he was already behind bars and then he recorded an album behind bars. At this point E-40 is reaching new heights and he saw Mac Dre as a relevant enough figure to take a shot at
Regarding his evaluation as an MC, I wouldn't evaluate him as an MC unless we are to greatly warp the standards. Unless you're talking his earlier material I'm trying to think of what type of MC standard would you even think to apply to him? The concept of that evaluation seemed fundamentally flawed and would be as effective as fitting a square peg through a round hole.. You've got to go back to how to evaluate an artist who's stylistically in the experimental realm. There's no rapper you compare Mac Dre to and you definitely don't use standard of a regular MC. I see a clear separation between him and rappers that made conscious attempts to be lyrically impressive . . Mac Dre is lowkey lyrically intricate in the sense that there's often use of interior rhymes but at no point does he make a concerted effort for that to take priority over the two main signature elements of his style. In this respect it's readily evident Mac Dre was at least 10 years ahead of his time
1. Character - Mac Dre had character like nobody else. I'd imagine his character has the potential to be off-putting, This is central to the appeal of the Mac Dre brand. This character was put on display with the release of
Treal TV.. There's always humor in a Mac Dre verse, even when rapping about aggressive subjects. There's always humor in a Mac Dre verse and when you combine that with his second signature element you end up with songs that have a lot of replay value. This is the most center part of Mac Dre's appeal with the people that are drawn to him. Mac Dre verses are filled with humorous and game-ridden quotables that make you want to run the verse back. Mac Dre's fans find an exceptional amount of entertainment value in his work, markedly higher than you would expect from listening to music. Examples are While most rappers would be making their best tough guy impression Mac Dre would say something like
"I'll jump ya, all by myself
With no help, if you die oh well"
If those lyrics don't jump of the page to you . . well
there's a reason for that. You need to hear it . . . Mac Dre's second signature element
2, The things he says and how he says them or as he once said on an album from his overlooked era
It's Not What You Say . . . It's How You Say It - the importance of what Mac Dre says is always in a harmonious balance with importance of he says it . . usually injecting a whole lot of character with vocal inflections, this unique approach to delivery in which vocal inflections were used so prevalently throughout his delivery . This combined with his character renders a unique effect grants him the license of a comedian. This is why a girl can be listening to Suga Free and Mac Dre say the same thing and with Suga Free she feels offended but when Mac Dre says the exact same thing she finds humor in it and is entertained . . because
It's Not What You Say . . It's How You Say It. Mac Dre's quotables aren't even of the same standard of the quotables from the conventional rapper. The appeal of a Mac Dre quotable is one that has instant replay value, There's likely a certain line in every song that you especially anticipate. The fundamental difference is Mac Dre's quotable is often rooted in a combination of humor or the outlandish nature of what he's said. The eccentricity and confidence that's put on display in these vocal inflections wasn't seen in industry for at least another 7 years when it became a central aspect of the appeal that artists like 2 Chainz and Nicki Minaj built their brands on.
But he's not all style without substance - Mac Dre has a discography that is both expansive and prolific. In the Bay Area Mac Dre has songs that are genuine cult status hits, not only are these songs recognized but they are celebrated with a comradely that is rarely afforded to a mainstream single. When the Mac Dre song comes on the energy changes, people literally change their dance to a Mac Dre-like Thizzelle Dance. These songs are as follows
1. Feelin Myself
2. Get Stupid
3. Thizzelle Dance
4. Not My Job
These songs are cult hits.in the Bay Area, they are instantly recognizable when they come on, people will put on a Thizz face, they'll begin dancing like Mac Dre and in that moment a comradely and reverence is being shared because you know that you are taking part in a experience that is unique to the Bay Area culture. And nothing can be a more definitive example of the Bay Area's unique cultural identity. It's like saying "hella" or yelling out "Yeeeeee!", . Ya sure, your friend Meghan from Witchita Kansas doesn't understand it or what's going on as she sees this start to break out,, but you simply respond "Yes, this is the Bay Area and we have our own words, we have our dances, and ya we have our own music". There's also many other songs throughout Mac Dre's catalog that are notable favorites of most fans - "Genie of the Lamp", "Since 84" - when you go through the diversity of the soundscapes in each of his project you'll notice how unique of a sound he had
(As a note, D-Lo's song "No Hoe" shares similar status, albeit the lack of the Mac Dre dance theme or Thizz faces)
As for the commercial viability of his direction -
You could start by looking at Feelin Myself - this song needs nothing to vouch for it, It even meets many of Max Martin's standard for success in pop radio. The song is instantly recognizable for the first note, and is among the most revered songs in Bay Area history. For good reason to, there's things going on in the production that aren't consciously meeting your ear the first time you hear it. This is a definitive example of the type of appeal Mac Dre's style would have. If he was putting a single together with the priority of showcasing the best example of his style to introduce to new audiences, this would be it. I almost would feel like it's a safe guess to assume that he made this with the prospect of a single in mind. And such an initiative wouldn't be without merit in the past two years two records of the same name were released as singles to mainstream markets. One was Beyonce/Nicki Minaj and the other featured will.i.am/Miley Cyrus/Wiz Khalifa/French Montana . . all three of these songs feature references to credit cards and a identical choruses, from a songwriting standpoint it does allude to influence from the original song that was perhaps used as a reference or inspiration as the producer created their own rendition to pitch to some of the biggest names in the music industry. Oh ya, and the song was the foundation of Drake's single "The Motto". It's a recreation of the same drum pattern the melody stripped back. Drake featured Mac Dre's Thizz Nation logo for a subliminal second before he introduced Mac Dre's mother
. .
You know Sweets?
folks on the second
....we have somebody like Sauce Walka who is like Dre reincarnated
?