Andre Nickatina / Bizzy Bone

Andre Adams, better known by his stage name Andre Nickatina, is an American MC and producer from San Francisco, California. He previously performed under the stage name Dre Dog.

Adams released two albums under the stage name Dre Dog: The New Jim Jones in 1993 and I Hate You With a Passion in 1995. I Hate You With a Passion peaked at #79 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 1998, Adams changed his then current stage name to Andre Nickatina, and released the albums Cocaine Raps and Raven in My Eyes, which were released independently under Dogday Records. Unlike his albums released under the name Dre Dog, Cocaine Raps had deeper production values. Raven in My Eyes was noted for emphasizing "sequencers and keyboards that buzz and whine" over live instrumentation, as reviewed by Todd S. Inoue of the news magazine Metroactive. That year, he founded his own record label, Fillmoe Coleman. Nickatina explained in an interview with Strivin magazine that his name change was "for the better" and that he raps because he feels that he is talented enough to do so but not for the sake of popularity.

Soon afterwards, his following three albums, Tears of a Clown (1999), Daiquiri Factory: Cocaine Raps, Vol. 2 and These R the Tales (both 2000) made him more well-known in the West Coast underground rap scene. Mosi Reeves of the San Francisco Bay Guardian noted Nickatina's popularity at a CD release party for another underground Bay Area rapper, Smoov-E; Reeves called Nickatina "a quick-witted rapper who spits as hard as Kurupt does". A combo CD/movie project, Conversation with a Devil, followed in 2003. Charlie Amter, a music critic for SF Weekly, regarded the film as a knockoff of the classic gangster movie Scarface. Nate Denver for the SF Bay Guardian praised the album, though. Another album, The Gift followed in 2005, when the newspaper SF Weekly named Nickatina the "Best Local Hip Hop Legend" of that year. In 2008, he released A Tale of Two Andres with Mac Dre. Although they released only two songs together, they were close friends and the album was a tribute to his memory.


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Bizzy Bone (born Bryon Anthony McCane) on September 12, 1976 in Columbus, Ohio, is an American rapper and member of the rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Born to an African American/Indian father and an Italian/Jewish mother, Bizzy Bone started in hip-hop as a founding member of the group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Formed in 1993, this Cleveland-based crew first caught the ear of N.W.A. member Eazy-E.

Their trademark double and triple-time sung/rapped harmonies brought something new to the table at a time when most acts were busy trying to imitate what was featured on Dr. Dre's The Chronic. The unique sound prompted multi-platinum record sales, won them a Grammy, and brought the spotlight to the long-neglected Midwestern hip-hop community.

As a solo performer, Bizzy Bone is well known for his high-speed rhyme style and unique singing abilities. Continually writing and recording around the clock, he released his first solo album in 1998, the personal and introspective Heaven'z Movie. After receiving critical acclaim, Bizzy went on to write and release The Gift in 2001, Alpha and Omega in 2004, and The Beginning and the End, also in 2004, For The Fans vol. 1 and vol. 2 in 2005, The Story, Thugs Revenge, The Midwest Cowboy, and From Your Righteousness in 2006. His latest album Ruthless was released on March 4th 2008.

Bizzy's work has been awarded by numerous respected groups, including an ASCAP Award, the Michael Jackson Soul Train Award, a Blockbuster Award, an American Music Award, and the NAACP - Back To School/Stay in School Youth Rally Award. He has become a member of Hip Hop's elite, collaborating with modern hip-hop legends such as P Diddy, Snoop Dogg, as well as the late Eazy-E, 2Pac, and The Notorious B.I.G..

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