Along the road of life, there will always be people who
touch your heart. For some people, it’s that first love. For others, it may be
an elementary school teacher. In the case of Terrence Kelly, it was childhood buddie and fellow Lost Boyz member Raymond “Freaky Tah” Rogers. Although the group’s last
album, LB IV Life, was essentially a
memorial for Freaky Tah, Kelly (known to most as Mr. Cheeks) has really only begun his
healing process.
John P. Kelly, Mr. Cheeks‘ fun-yet-focused solo effort, is additional therapy for
the Queens, New York, native. While the candid rhymes on the Stephen Marley-collaborated Mama Say take listeners on an
emotional ride, the more bouncy beats found everywhere else get folks thinking
about the good times. After all, Mr.
Cheeks is still a member of one of hip hop’s most playful groups.
While some of John P. Kelly’s tracks
sound a bit elementary, Lights, Camera, Action,
the album’s giddy first single, and the 70’s soul jam Friday Night have little problem
getting bodies moving. As for slower moments like What
The F— Is This? and Till We Meet Again,
they evoke less action and more reflection. Still, even their soft keys and
gentle strings work some inexplicable magic on the head and shoulders. But with
a bouncy track record like Mr. Cheeks’,
it’s safe to say that making music that people enjoy is forever in him. Much
like the memory of his lost partner-in-rhyme.