The Lost Boyz began as a street crew in
South Jamaica, Queens,
New York in 1987. Mr Cheeks (known as CO-CHEEKS) and Freaky Tah were locally known as freestyle artists along with Fredro Starr (ONYX) & Mikey D (Main Source) during the "Park Jam Era" (Tapemaster B, CuttMaster Jt, Grandmaster Vic). Mr Cheeks would take this time to perfect his battle rapping skill in the park & also gain his stage name from the Supreme Team leader, Black Just. With Pretty Lou and Spigg Nice, the group would come together and promote under the Lost Boyz name. In 1995, the group released their debut single "Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless," charting on the
Billboard Hot 100. The release landed them a record deal with
Uptown Records. They contributed a single to the ''
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood soundtrack, titled "Renee". The song became a major hit, breaking into the top 40 on the Hot 100 chart. The single also reached gold status in 1996. On June 4, 1996, the group released their debut album Legal Drug Money'' to acclaim, and featured five Hot 100 hits, including their past singles "
Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless," "Renee," "
Music Makes Me High," "
Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz," and "
Get Up." The album was certified
Gold by the
RIAA in late 1996. In 1996, the group appeared on the
Red Hot Organization's compilation CD
America Is Dying Slowly, alongside
Wu-Tang Clan,
Coolio, and
Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men, was heralded as a "masterpiece" by
The Source magazine. Their second album,
Love, Peace & Nappiness, was released on June 17, 1997, through
Uptown/
Universal Records. It featured another Hot 100 single, "Me & My Crazy World." One of the most famous songs on the album was the
posse cut "Beasts from the East", featuring
A+,
Redman, and
Canibus. The album was not as acclaimed as their debut, but fared well commercially, reaching Gold status in late 1997. Freaky Tah was murdered in Queens on March 28, 1999, at the age of 27, putting him in the infamous "
27 Club", which is a group of musicians who died at the age of 27. The three remaining group members finished their third album,
LB IV Life, released in September 1999, but the album was not a commercial or artistic success, and Mr. Cheeks left to begin a solo career. On January 16, 2004, Spigg Nice was tried and convicted of multiple bank robberies in
New Jersey and was sentenced to 37 years in prison. He was released in 2021, the same year the group appeared on
Nick Cannon's ''
Wild 'N Out'' show on VH1. == Members ==