Thug Life Army

Hard feelings added to the grief of family members and friends of slain Vallejo rap star Mac Dre when many were turned away from his funeral Wednesday.

The popular gangsta rapper, whose given name was Andre Hicks, was fatally shot last week in Kansas City, Mo., as he rode in the back seat of a van on his way to his hotel. No arrests have been made in the case.

Dre's large family, already fragmented and strained before the shooting, has been at odds since his death over funeral arrangements and, some say, over his money.

Mac Dre's uncle, Bernard Hicks of Vallejo, said a family feud is brewing over the rap star's money. Asked Tuesday about relatives'' fears they would be turned away Wednesday, Dre's mother, Wanda Salvatto of Vallejo, insisted they would be allowed to attend.

Nevertheless, hundreds of mourning relatives arrived at Oakland's Mountain View Cemetery on Wednesday morning only to be told they couldn''t enter by funeral home sentries posted at the door with a prepared list.

That included Mac Dre's father, Bernard Hicks said.

"Andre's daddy had a hard time getting in that funeral. Half the Hicks family couldn''t get in, and others refused to go in because of the way they were treated," said Bernard Hicks.

The rap star's mother, Salvatto, who arrived in a limousine flanked by the sentries, would not talk to reporters at the funeral.

The Oakland chapel seats only about 100 people, a fact that infuriated relatives who wanted the funeral held at Fairfield's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, the site of Tuesday's viewing. That church seats about 2,000.

The crush of mourners waiting in Wednesday morning's drizzle pressed up the steps and against the chapel's glass doors to plead their case for admittance. They were turned away, however, when their names were not found on the list.

In some cases, guests were included on the list but not their children or spouses. In other cases, people not on the list were allowed in before others who were. At one point, names were called, like a lottery, and relayed through the crowd. The person whose name was called then pushed his or her way through to the chapel doors and was let in, with the door immediately closing behind them; according to Rachel Raskin-Zrihen - VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD.

"It was total chaos," said Bernard Hicks, adding he was forced to argue to gain admittance for himself and his immediate family.

Mac Dre was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery following the service, officiated by former Oakland Raiders football player Pastor Jerone Davidson of Fairfield's Bountiful Harvest Ministry Church.