After bringing glory to the Bay Area on the basketball court, Steph Curry announced Thursday that he’s producing a documentary that will uplift the legacy of one of the region’s cultural heroes: Mac Dre.
Steph Curry Is Producing a Mac Dre Documentary
![Mac Dre performs on stage in 2004, wearing giant sunglasses, a striped polo shirt and Adidas jacket. Men on stage are going dumb, dancing and singing along to the lyrics.](https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/2004_0702macdreb-day0014-square-800x800.jpg)
Known for his eccentric party anthems — “Feelin’ Myself,” “Get Stupid,” “Thizzle Dance” — and colorful personas, the Vallejo MC inspired the hyphy movement, and his legend has only grown since his death in a Kansas City shooting in 2004. Mac Dre’s image has been enshrined in murals, tattoos and countless airbrushed T-shirts. And though his legacy tends to go underappreciated outside of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, Mac Dre is a rapper’s rapper, and countless artists, including Yo Gotti and Drake, have shouted out his influence.
The announcement arrives as Curry continues to grow his presence in television and entertainment. He has over a dozen producer credits to his name, and tends to select projects that celebrate Black Americans’ contributions to culture and sports, including the 2023 E series Black Pop and ESPN’s Why Not Us: Howard Golf. Earlier this year, he was the subject of the acclaimed Apple TV+ documentary, Stephen Curry: Underrated.
A documentary about Mac Dre, whose story has underdog appeal, seems fitting for a star athlete who was once underestimated himself. Curry, his Unanimous Media co-founder Erick Peyton and executive producer Brian Tetsuro Ivie are collaborating with Mac Dre’s mother and head of his estate, Wanda Salvatto, on the project.
![a spraypainted mural of the rap artist mac dre](https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured.jpg)
“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, who broke the news.
Mac Dre is also the subject of a recent Salvatto-approved biography, Mac Dre: A Crime That Was Never Committed.