P. Diddy and Voletta Wallace at the fifth annual B.I.G. Night Out
Photo: Soul Brother

NEW YORK — In a perfect world, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Big L, Big Pun, Aaliyah, Left Eye, Freaky Tah and Jam Master Jay would have all been with their mothers Tuesday night at the fifth annual B.I.G. Night Out. However, the harsh reality is that all the stars have passed on — most of them by violent means — leaving their families and friends to mourn.

But as the rappers' loved ones and associates who came out to participate in the yearly event put on by the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation filed in to the Metropolitan Pavilion, hardly any somber feelings were expressed. Attendees including Jay-Z, Iron Mike Tyson and the Rev. Al Sharpton came to rejoice. (Click here for photos from the event.)

"When I think about these events, I always say we're celebrating the lives of these artists," the Rev. Run, standing next to DMC, said. "They're not really dead. A little while ago I heard 'Sucker M.C.'s' playing [in the background]."

Every year the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds a black-tie dinner to raise funds for children's school equipment and supplies and to honor the memory of the Notorious B.I.G. (For the event, B.I.G., in addition to referencing Biggie's name, stands for Books Instead of Guns.) This year, not only was homage paid to Biggie and his mother, Voletta Wallace, but also to deceased superstars Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah Haughton, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lamont "Big L" Coleman, Christopher "Big Pun" Rios, Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers and their mothers.

"We don't need to focus on why these people are gone, we need to focus on why we're here and what we can do," Run continued. "To come and honor Jay's mother is a tremendous thing. We rehearsed in Jay's living room. The turntables were at Jay's house. We spent nights at Jay's house. We left from Jay's house to go on tour. We sent buses to Jay's house to pick up all of the Hollis Crew to take them to Madison Square Garden."

"Their strength has helped us as a hip-hop nation to carry on," P. Diddy said in praise of the mothers.

"It's sad to say they've lost a lot of their sons, their daughters, through terrible tragedies," Ms. Wallace said of her fellow mothers in attendance. "Their children have contributed a lot to society but for some reason, those mothers are not being acknowledged and recognized. [Tonight] is just the foundation's way of saying we love them, we're thinking about them, their courage, their strength and [to say], 'Keep up the good work.' "

For some of the parents of the departed icons, keeping up the good work means turning toward the good book.

"I believe we have to leave it in the hands of God to correct us and help us so we can go on and live day by day," Connie Mizell, mother of Jam Master Jay, said about how the mothers should deal with the loss of their children. "If we suffer too long we won't be any good for the rest of the family. We can't fall by the wayside just because [our children] are gone. Jay's always there. There's not a day I don't smile and think about something he said or did. I want the other mothers to know that I'm coping. ... I'm doing more than coping, I'm OK." 

While Mrs. Mizell took her time in the spotlight to advise prayer, Big L's mother called to end the brutality. "I've lost two sons to street violence," Gilda Terry said. "It's a little harder for me tonight. There's so much going on in this world, we don't need the street violence, especially from our young people. They don't care about life anymore, it needs to change."

Seemingly, what will never change is the relevance of the artists' music. Even today, their classic material is standing the test of time.

"They spoke for the people, they spoke from the heart, they were revolutionaries of their time," Diddy said of why their music continues to be so popular. "These cats were the last of a dying breed with their words, actions and energy." 

"I was just saying it's a trip that music has changed so much in the last six years," Biggie's widow, Faith Evans, said. "And for these people to not be here ... it doesn't seem like they're not here. When you hear their songs it's certainly timeless. It's a proud feeling for myself and certainly all the mothers." 

With the exception of Afeni Shakur, all the invited mothers were in attendance and received the B.I.G. Heart Award and proclamations from New York City and New York State.

Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Faith performed, however the highlight onstage was Patti LaBelle, who sang the Lord's Prayer. Before she began singing, the legendary crooner asked audience members, such as Mike Tyson, her "dog" P. Diddy and Foxy Brown, if her wig looked all right.

"Bless your wig," the Rev. Run yelled back to the stage.

"Ameeen," she sang minutes later, garnering a standing ovation.

— Shaheem Reid with additional reporting by Sway Calloway

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Diddy
• Faith Evans
• Run-D.M.C.
• Big L

Mr Cheeks on Judge Hatchett
Photo: Columbia Tristar Domestic Television

Mr. Cheeks will have his say in court on Monday. He's popping up on nationally syndicated courtroom show "Judge Hatchett." The Lost Boyz's longtime frontman isn't getting sued, and he isn't accused of a crime — he's making a plea to a wayward youth to straighten up his life.

"I was just kicking it with this shorty who was getting in trouble," Cheeks said Friday. "I told his ass he'd better think. He's young, he has mad opportunities right now. That's what it's about, finding a better way. Right now he's getting himself in mad trouble, not going to school, stealing out of his mom's purse. I told him, 'Yo, we went through our problems in life,' but he ain't heading in a good direction. It's easy to get in jail."

Cheeks said getting his chance to shine on the American Music Awards a few weeks ago was easy too.

"Puff Daddy called me up and wanted me to rock with him," he said nonchalantly. "You know I ain't gonna turn that down. I ain't never been onstage with Puff, Snoop, Ben Stiller. I was chillin'. I was like, 'That's ill.' "

Cheeks was on hand to perform part of his "Lights, Camera, Action!" remix, which features P. Diddy, Missy Elliott and Petey Pablo.

He said production on the clip for his next single, "Friday Night," which features singer Horace Brown, will be ramping up soon. The concept is inspired by the 1975 comedy "Let's Do It Again," which starred Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier and Jimmie Walker.

"[Comedian] Dave Chappelle is playing the Jimmie Walker character. I'm being Bill Cosby. My brother is gonna be Sidney Poitier. Horace Brown is probably gonna be Biggie Smalls."

Looking forward to the road, Cheeks said not only are he and his good friend Stephen Marley planning to make an album together, they want to put together a tour that features people like themselves: performers with dreadlocks.

"The tour, we're getting that all together now," he said. "We've never had a dread tour. It's [gonna be] mad artists with dreads that are very powerful in music — when I say dread, not just Rasta — my man Bilal, Busta, that's mandatory. We're gonna see who we want."

• Mr. Cheeks
• Lost Boyz

Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers
Photo: Universal

The two-year saga surrounding the murder of supreme hip-hop hype man Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers came closer to an end Monday at New York's Queens County Courthouse.

Kelvin Jones pleaded guilty to pulling the trigger that ended the life of the Lost Boyz's most lovable member in 1999. According to the Queens district attorney's office, Jones will be sentenced on September 13 and faces a prison term of 15 years to life. His accomplice, Raheem Fletcher, who drove Jones to and from the murder scene, is serving a seven-year jail term for manslaughter in the case. The van's owner, Ryan Firth, has yet to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty to criminal facilitation earlier this year.

With Tah's growling voice often repeating the last word of frontman Mr. Cheek's lines, the Lost Boyz foursome became synonymous with party jams in 1994 and '95. They established themselves with club classics like "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz and Benz," "Music Makes Me High," and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless" off of their gold debut, Legal Drug Money. Between albums, Tah joined Cheeks as guests on songs by Mary J. Blige, Queen Pen, 112 and others. Their second album, 1997's Love Peace and Nappiness, also went gold, but LB IV Life, their third LP (which Tah didn't live long enough to finish recording), went virtually unnoticed amidst the death of Tah and the group's mourning.

• Lost Boyz

The Lost Boyz returned to record stores Tuesday with their latest effort, "L.B. Fam IV Life." The record's release date came six months to the day after the gunning down of group member Freaky Tah in his hometown of Queens, New York.

• Lost Boyz

Police in New York have arrested two more suspects in connection with last month's slaying of the Lost Boyz's Freaky Tah, including the man authorities believe pulled the trigger on the 28-year-old rapper.

• Lost Boyz

Police in New York City have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of the Lost Boyz's Freaky Tah.

• Lost Boyz

Lost Boyz rapper Freaky Tah was fatally gunned down on Sunday morning as he was leaving a party near his home in Queens, New York, by a masked assailant who remains at-large.

• Lost Boyz

July 17 [14:00 EDT] -- The Eels, Summercamp, and the Old 97's are poised to pass the baton to a new batch of second stage acts on Lollapalooza, and rappers the Lost Boyz are among the groups to take on the challenge.

Fresh from the release of their latest effort, "Love, Peace and Nappiness," the Lost Boyz will join Failure, Atari Teenage Riot, Skeleton Key and others on Lolla's second stage starting this Friday in Ohio. Last month, the Boyz launched the album by playing all 16 tracks with a live band, at a New York City club.

So what should Lollapalooza fans expect from the Lost Boyz?

"Energy," the group's Pretty Lou told MTV News. "Tell them to bring their towels, make sure they got their water and that other stuff and it's all good."

"Just bring yourself, ya know what I mean," Mr. Cheeks added.

"Cause we listen to all forms of music, know what I'm sayin'," Pretty Lou explained. "It's not just hip-hop we listen to. So we expect people to just have the same type of open mind that we have."

You can take that open mind and catch the Lost Boyz on the remainder of the Lollapalooza tour, which wraps up August 16 in Mountain View, California. Here's where the Boyz will be playing before then, along with Korn, Tool, Tricky, and the rest of the Lolla crowd:

• 7/18 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
• 7/19 - Burgettstown, PA @ Star Lake Amphitheatre
• 7/20 - Columbus, OH @ Polaris Amphitheater
• 7/22 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
• 7/23 - Noblesville, IN @ Deer Creek Music Center
• 7/25 - Tinley Park, IL @ New World Music Theatre
• 7/26 - Mears, MI @ Val-Du-Lakes Amph.
• 7/27 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Th.
• 7/29 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Sandstone Amphitheatre
• 7/30 - Maryland Hgts., MO @ Riverport Amphitheatre
• 7/31 - Antioch, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
• 8/2 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex Amphitheatre
• 8/3 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Texas Sky Park
• 8/6 - Phoenix, AZ @ Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion
• 8/8 - Devore, CA @ G.H. Blockbuster Pavilion
• 8/10 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amph.
• 8/12 - George, WA @ Gorge
• 8/13 - Portland, OR @ Portland Meadows
• 8/15 - Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
• 8/16 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre

• Lost Boyz

June 26 [12:00 EDT] -- En Vogue, the Lost Boyz, and Megadeth scored top ten debuts on the "Billboard" album charts in a week of very little chart activity.

Bob Carlisle, he of the super-sweet ballad "Butterfly Kisses," is once again in the top spot on the album chart, followed by the Spice Girls and Tim McGraw. After debuting at number one, and slipping to number two in its second week, the Wu-Tang Clan is at number four with "Wu-Tang Forever."

The Dawn Robinson-less En Vogue scores the highest debut of the week, landing at number eight with "EV3." Two other new releases, Lost Boyz's "Love, Peace & Nappiness" and Megadeth's "Cryptic Writings," follow right behind at number nine and ten respectively.

The singles chart is even more motionless this week, as Puff Daddy and Faith Evans hold on to number one with the Notorious B.I.G. tribute "I'll Be Missing You." With the exception of Meredith Brook's "Bitch" moving from number four to number three, bumping Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" down to four, the top ten singles are unchanged from last week.

Things are a bit more lively over on the modern rock chart, where Third Eye Blind finally nabs the top spot with "Semi-Charmed Life." The track pushes the Mighty Mighty Bosstones "The Impression That I Get" down to number two, while the rest of the top seven remains unchanged. There is a bit of shuffling near the bottom of the top ten, where Blur's "Song 2" and Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench" slip up to number eight and nine, and Depeche Mode's "It's No Good" drops from eight to ten.

• En Vogue
• Lost Boyz
• Megadeth

Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Run-DMC, More At Fifth Annual B.I.G. Night Out

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Diddy
• Faith Evans
• Jay-Z
• Run-D.M.C.