The Mad Rapper, Lil' Cease, Pitch Black, and Shyheim are among the rap artists pitching in for the 2nd Annual Think B.I.G. Basketball Tournament in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Sponsored by Voletta Wallace, mother of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G., the basketball games will be played each weekend through the end of August in Bedford-Stuyvesant's Crispus Attucks Park.

Ms. Wallace's Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, in conjunction with Bedstuy's Finest Barbershop, is holding the tournament in an effort to raise awareness of the Foundation and keep kids off the streets during the summer weekends.

This weekend's game (8/21) will feature performances by Wu-Tang affiliate rapper Shyheim, and Brooklyn acts Pitch Black, and 2 Unorthodox. For the final weekend celebration (8/28), The Mad Rapper will showcase some of the material from his upcoming album, while Lil' Cease and NBA stars Rod Strickland, Stephon Marbury, and Charles Oakley will

also appear.

Meanwhile, Ms. Wallace will head to Atlanta the weekend of September 25 for the Think B.I.G. Weekend, which will raise funds for schools, daycare centers, and mentor programs in the area (see [article id="1425783"]"Biggie's Mother Plans To Spread Charitable Work To Atlanta"[/article]).