Host / Media Personality, Promoter, Recording Artist, Songwriter, xx-Pioneer/Legendary Artist
Wickett Crickett, born Darrell Veal in Houston in 1959, was a pioneering MC, host, promoter, radio personality, community organizer and cultural connector whose career reached from Houston’s formative hip-hop years through 2015. With roots connected to Houston’s Fifth Ward, Wickett became known not simply as a performer, but as someone who actively created opportunities for artists and brought different parts of Houston’s music community together.
Wickett’s history reaches into the early development of Houston hip-hop. As an MC and recording artist, his documented solo catalog includes the 1996 release “Where U From / Can I Hit It.” His career ultimately extended across multiple generations of Houston music, allowing him to serve as a link between the city’s earlier hip-hop culture and artists emerging through its later independent scene.
His influence, however, extended beyond his own recordings. Wickett became a recognizable Houston personality through hosting, promotion, radio and his persistent support of independent artists.
One of the most important later chapters of Wickett’s career was Roc-D-Mic, the Houston showcase he hosted and promoted as a platform for independent performers.
The DBP archive documents Roc-D-Mic across its venue progression from Diezel’z Lounge / Club Breakers, to Club Yakum, and later Carrington’s. Wickett served as the host throughout that progression, bringing performers, supporters and members of Houston’s music community together around the recurring showcase.
His promotion of Roc-D-Mic was intensely grassroots. Wickett regularly contacted artists and supporters directly, using his personal network to keep people aware of the shows and encourage them to participate. That persistence reflected the larger role he played throughout Houston’s independent scene: connecting people and creating opportunities for artists to be seen and heard.
Roc-D-Mic also became an important chapter in Dammit Boy Productions history. During the Club Yakum era, Tre Dizzle began DJing the events, deepening the working relationship between Wickett and DBP and leaving behind an extensive visual record of Houston independent artists and performances.
Wickett’s relationship with Dammit Boy Productions was personal as well as professional. He was a friend, mentor, host and collaborator, rather than a signed DBP artist. DBP documented numerous performances and events connected to Wickett and the Houston community surrounding him.
The archive also preserves events beyond Roc-D-Mic, including Wickett Crickett & Cornbread Appreciation Day, held at Club Zona Latina in Houston on August 21, 2014.
Wickett Crickett died in Houston on November 23, 2015, at age 56. His legacy extends beyond a recording catalog. His work as an MC, host, promoter, radio personality, organizer and mentor made him a connector between artists and generations within Houston hip-hop.
Through surviving recordings, flyers, performances, interviews and DBP’s extensive video archive, Wickett’s role in Houston’s independent music community continues to be documented and preserved.
