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.