Lindsay Welnick, a music critic for SF Weekly, regarded the film as a knockoff of the classic gangster movie Scarface. A combo CD/movie project, Conversation with a Devil, followed in 2003. Mosi Reeves of the San Francisco Bay Guardian noted Nickatina's popularity at a CD release party for another underground Bay Area rapper/producer, Smoov-E Reeves called Nickatina 'a quick-witted rapper who spits as hard as Kurupt does'. 2, The Unreleased and These R the Tales (the latter three in 2000) gained him notoriety in the West Coast underground rap scene. Soon afterwards, his following three albums, Tears of a Clown (1999), Daiquiri Factory: Cocaine Raps, Vol. 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. That year, he founded his own record label, Filmoe Coleman Records. The album Raven in My Eyes was noted for its production quality and songs that combine 'sequencers and keyboards that buzz and whine' with live instrumentation. Unlike his albums released under the name Dre Dog, Cocaine Raps had deeper production values. In 1997, Adams changed his stage name to Andre Nickatina, and released the albums: Cocaine Raps under his own label, Filmoe Coleman Records and Raven in My Eyes, which was released under the Bay Area Independent Rap Label Dogday Records. 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. He released two albums under the stage name Dre Dog: The New Jim Jones in 1993 and I Hate You With a Passion in 1995. Shortly after the release of I.M.P's Back in the Days he left to form a solo career. He previously performed under the stage name Dre Dog.Īndre Nickatina first appeared on the Bay Area rap scene in 1993 under the name Dre Dog as a member of the group I.M.P. Adams (born March 11, 1970), better known by his stage name Andre Nickatina, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California.