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Andre DeSean Wicker (born April 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Gangsta Dresta, is an American rapper. He is best known for collaborating with
Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...
on the 1993 single "
Real Muthaphuckkin G's "Real Muthaphuckkin' Gs," or "Real Compton City Gs" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Dresta, Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard Hot 10 ...
". He is the older brother of rapper B.G. Knocc Out, who is also featured on the song. Together, they released their only studio album '' Real Brothas'', in August 1995, which peaked at #128 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 1996, the pair appeared on the remixed version of the
South Central Cartel South Central Cartel is an American West Coast hip hop/gangsta rap group based in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coas ...
song, " Knock on Wood".


Early life

Andre Wicker was born and raised in Nutty Blocc in
Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
.BG Knocc Out & Dresta
''Rap Pages''. Retrieved on 2009-07-27
He and his brother Arlandis Hinton, also known as B.G. Knocc Out, became Nutty Blocc Compton
Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...
.Interview: West Coast Legend Dre'sta!
(HTML) Raptalk.net. Retrieved on 2008-10-19
He was convicted of
assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
ing another gang member in Compton in 1988, and was incarcerated at the
California Youth Authority The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), was a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that provided education, training, and treatment services ...
in
Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...
until 1993.


Music career

While Dresta was serving his five-year sentence, he started writing lyrics and rapping, gaining some notoriety. Within months of Dresta's release, he and B.G. Knocc Out signed to
Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...
's
Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...
and made their debut on Eazy's 1993 multi-platinum EP '' It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'' on the single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" (which was censored to "Real Compton City G's" in order to garner
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and radio airplay).B.G. Knocc Out Interview
(HTML) Dubcnn. Retrieved on 2008-10-12
The song itself was a response to
Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...
and
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
's various 'diss' records towards Eazy-E on Dr. Dre's debut album, ''
The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records along with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records. The recording ses ...
''. In 1995, Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out released their debut studio album '' Real Brothas'', which remains their only album to date. At the end of the same year, they made three guest appearances in Eazy-E's posthumous album ''
Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton ''Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton'' is the second and final studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released posthumously by Ruthless Records and Relativity Records on January 30, 1996, ten months after Eazy-E's death in March ...
''. After B.G. Knocc Out's incarceration in 1998, Dresta worked with
Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. D ...
and appeared on two tracks from Death Row's '' Too Gangsta for Radio'' compilation, but never actually signed to the record label. Dresta stated in an interview that he is currently working on ''Dirty West''
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
series and on upcoming solo album, hinting possibility of ''Real Brothas'' to get re-released. Dresta also wrote a song for Dr. Dre's album '' Detox'', but Dre didn't want to collaborate with him. He criticized Dr. Dre for surrounding himself with mediocre artists and the numerous delays of his ''Detox'' album.


Personal life


1994 shooting

On January 14, 1994, Tyrone Thomas (also known as Tony Bogard), Andre Wicker and Rodney Compton were involved in a gang confrontation in
Imperial Courts Imperial Courts is a public housing project located in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It is located at 11541 Croesus Avenue on Imperial Highway, between Grape Street and Mona Boulevard, near Interstate 105 (California), the 105 Freeway. The fe ...
housing projects. Thomas and Compton were former PeeJay Watts Crips and Thomas had helped to organize a truce between Crips and Bloods in
Watts, Los Angeles Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood, Huntington Park and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated co ...
in 1992. At around 6:30 p.m., a shooting began in a parking lot in the 2200 block of East 114th Street. 25 shots were fired, six of which hit Thomas, who was said to be the prime target of the shooting. According to witnesses, Thomas was carrying a pistol and he shot back at the assailants, possibly wounding two of them. Thomas and Wicker were subsequently hospitalized in Martin Luther King, Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center, where Thomas was pronounced dead. Wicker was in critical condition while arriving to the hospital, but received a surgery for a gunshot to his left arm and was released the same week. Compton was wounded in the arm and treated at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. He was later charged with the murder of Thomas, but was released from jail after pleading
no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...
to one count of
voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human in which the offender acted in the heat of passion, a state that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot reasonably control thei ...
on May 31, 1994. Wicker was sentenced to one year probation under terms of a plea bargain.


Discography


Collaboration albums

*'' Real Brothas'' with B.G. Knocc Out (1995)


Guest appearances


References


External links


Discography
at
Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

2008 interview
of Dresta {{Authority control 1971 births Living people African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American people convicted of assault American shooting survivors Crips Def Jam Recordings artists G-funk artists Gangsta rappers Rappers from Compton, California Rappers from Los Angeles Ruthless Records artists Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians