Andre Nickatina

"To all you mothafuckas that juss can't tell...I'm a Pisces but I'd rather be a killa whale." Or so the San Francisco underground rapper told us while still under the moniker of Dre Dog in the mid-nineties. Known as Andre Nickatina ever since, he's steadily delivered an album-per-year pace of catchy ghetto gems like "Ayo" (Ayo for Yayo) that reverberate across frat house parties and inside headphones. Nickatina spins urban tales of Frisco Bay, looking for the next smoke session, the next girl, the next beat for his laid back vocals to blend with; his style will appeal to fans of fellow Bay Area rappers Mac Dre (with whom Nickatina was close), Too Short, Eligh, and Del tha Funky Homosapien.
Fri., Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m., 2008