Hicks was going back and fourth between the Bay Area and Fresno because he was promoting himself and entertaining his fans with shows. As Hicks was heading home to the Bay Area from Fresno, he was intercepted by several FBI agents and Law Enforcement officials for assumed affiliation with a bank robbery that had taken place in Fresno. Hicks stated in an interview that, "They said that earlier that morning we was riding around looking at banks, but I was just at the motel asleep, by myself, no crime was ever commited". Hicks further said, "No bank was robbed, no bank was entered, no bank was nothing". Hicks labeled his jail sentence as a "conspiracy" because he felt there was no credible evidence presented against him with his involvement in bank robberies. He was then arraigned, and incarcerated within Lompoc. In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording the lyrics to songs directly over the Fresno County Jail and Lompoc United States Penitentiary inmate telephone. His album Young Black Brotha, was a result of such efforts, all while Hicks was still imprisoned. A later album, Back 'N Da Hood, was also made up of these prison-recorded songs . While in Lompoc, Mac Dre would go on to obtain his G.E.D, he stated that, "I had nothing else to do, I had to go back and get mine".

During his time in prison, "Mac Dre Presents: The Rompalation" was released in 1996. After his release from prison in 1997, he recorded his second album Stupid Doo Doo Dumb. It was released April 28, 1998. Following those albums, Hicks met with Executive Producer Bernard Gourley and recorded the album Rapper Gone Bad with production help from Tone Cappone, Lev Berlak, and Warren G. This started a new beginning for Hicks as he began to release albums steadily, building a huge catalog of music recorded at The Grill Studios in Oakland in 2000. Hicks's audience was growing, and mainstream hip-hop stations were beginning to give Hicks's music more airtime. Hicks relocated to Sacramento, California in 2001, where he founded the label, Thizz Entertainment.

He worked with well-known artists such as Keak da Sneak, E-40, B-Legit, Brotha Lynch Hung, Dubee,  Mistah F.A.B.,  Rydah J. Klyde, Richie Rich, Lil Ric  San Quinn, Mars, Yukmouth, PSD, Andre Nickatina, Mac Mall, Smoov-E (aka Eli Meltzer), Messy Marv, and Too Short. He also provided an uncredited hook to the track "Gotta Survive" from Young Lay's Black 'N Dangerous album that featured 2Pac.