Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

best known for his work with the musical group

Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “K ...

, and as a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

artist with the single "

Lights, Camera, Action! "Lights, Camera, Action!" is the debut single by Mr. Cheeks, from his debut album '' John P. Kelly''. The song was released in August 2001 and produced by Bink, who used a sample of " Keep on Truckin'" by Eddie Kendricks. The song became Mr. Chee ...

Biography

1991–2019: Lost Boyz

Mr. Cheeks, who was mentored by his uncle

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

, along with bandmates

Freaky Tah Tahliq Raymond Rogers (May 14, 1971 – March 28, 1999), better known as Freaky Tah, was an American rapper, music promoter and hype man. Freaky Tah was a member of a hip hop group called the Lost Boyz, together with Mr. Cheeks, DJ Spigg N ...

(1971–1999), Spigg Nice and Pretty Lou made up

The Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “K ...

. The Lost Boyz practiced a sincere,

literate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

, non-sensational style of New York hip-hop and produced a number of singles including; "Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless" (1994), "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz" (1995) and "Renee" (1996). Lost Boyz gained worldwide critical acclaim following the release of the albums; ''Legal Drug Money'' in 1996, ''Love, Peace & Nappiness'' in 1997,''LB IV Life'' in 1999 , LB Next Generation in 2019 and Legacy in 2020.

2001–09: Solo career

Mr. Cheeks became a

solo artist In music, a solo (from the Spanish and Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by an ...

in 2001. His debut solo album, '' John P. Kelly'', named for both his cousin and his grandfather, featured the hit single "

". The album also included a collaboration with longtime friend and business partner,

Stephen Marley Stephen Robert Nesta Marley (born April 20, 1972) is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of his younger paternal half-brother Dam ...

, (son of reggae artist

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

) featuring the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Till We Meet Again" (recorded in Freaky Tah's memory) and the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

-flavored "Mama Say”. In 2003, Mr. Cheeks released the follow-up album, ''Back Again!'' The single off the album was "Crush On You" and it featured

Mario Winans Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song " I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Wina ...

. In the fall of 2003, Cheeks separated from Universal, forming his own label, Diane’s Boyz. Cheeks was also featured on

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

's single, "

The Jump Off "The Jump Off" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim, released as the first single on February 10 in 2003 from her third studio album '' La Bella Mafia''. It was produced by Timbaland and features Mr. Cheeks. The single debuted at number 95 and ...

Discography

Solo albums

*'' John P. Kelly'' (2001) *'' Back Again!'' (2003) *''Ladies and Ghettomen'' (2004) *''Raised'' (2015)

with Lost Boyz

*''

Legal Drug Money ''Legal Drug Money'' is the debut album by hip hop group Lost Boyz, featuring members Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah Tahliq Raymond Rogers (May 14, 1971 – March 28, 1999), better known as Freaky Tah, was an American rapper, music promoter and ...

'' (1996) *''

Love, Peace & Nappiness ''Love, Peace & Nappiness'' is the second album by the Queens, New York, hip hop group Lost Boyz. " Me and My Crazy World" was a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 17, 1997. Critical reception ''T ...

'' (1997) *''

LB IV Life ''LB IV Life'' is the third studio album by the hip hop group Lost Boyz, released in 1999. Member Freaky Tah was murdered six months before the album was released, but makes multiple appearances on ''LB IV Life''. The album fell short commercia ...

'' (1999) *''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' (2019) *''

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

'' (2020)

Solo singles

* "

" (2001) * "Friday Night" (2002) * "Crush on You" (2003) * "What We Do" (2006)

Featured singles

112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia ** ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), the standard ...

— " Come See Me" (1996) *

— "

" (2003)

References

External links

* *
Mr. Cheeks
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheeks, Mr. 1971 births African-American male rappers Living people People from Queens, New York Rappers from New York City 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians American radio personalities 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people