A Tale Of Two Andres

Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina were kindred spirits within the hyper-creative rap culture of the Bay Area, and they appeared on each others songs with such frequency that there was more than enough material to comprise the posthumous duo album *A Tale of Two Andres*. The two rappers had a lot in common — they were both rooted in the culture of drug dealing and pimping, but both insisted on using highly stylized language and music to articulate their scenes of ghetto life. They both had fearless taste in beats, and their dual penchant for unusual sounds is well represented by “Hot Jalapenos” and “Outta Control.” At the same time both possessed a highly developed feel for vintage funk, which was usually fed through their skewed sensibility, resulting in brilliant tracks like “Cocaine,” “Color of the Benz” and “I’m a Sav.” Above all, they complemented each other’s flow. Nickatina plays the deep-throated aggressor, always bearing down on the next rhyme, while Mac Dre hung back, almost singing his rhymes in a relaxed drawl. *A Tale of Two Andres* makes it easy to see that they brought out the best in each other and endures as a testament to their creative bond.