It was a Sunday morning in 1999 when Raymond “Freaky Tah” Rogers of the legendary Lost Boyz attended a party for a friend. What should have been a night of celebration in Queens turned tragic. As Tah was leaving the party at the Sheraton Hotel, he was fatally shot in an act of retaliation tied to a situation he had nothing to do with.
According to reporting from MTV News at the time, the violence stemmed from a chain of events that began months earlier. “The feud that resulted in the death of Freaky Tah (born Raymond Rogers) can be traced back at least to November, when a member of the Lost Boyz was robbed,” the report stated. It continued, “After the robbery, someone police believe was a ‘hanger-on’ in the Lost Boyz camp attempted to retaliate by shooting a man named Michael Saunders, a member of the Hellraisers camp. But Saunders, who was killed in the December shooting, actually had no involvement in the robbery.”
That cycle of misdirected retaliation ultimately led to the loss of Freaky Tah, a respected figure whose energy and presence helped define the Lost Boyz movement during Hip Hop’s golden era.
Twenty seven years later, Tah’s name still rings strong in the culture. He is remembered not just for his contributions to the group, but for the spirit he brought to the music and his community. The Lost Boyz family continues to honor their fallen brother, even as they move forward without DJ Spigg Nice, who remains incarcerated serving a 37 year sentence for armed robbery.
Freaky Tah’s legacy lives on as both a celebration of life and a reminder of how quickly it can be taken.
Salute to Mr. Cheeks, Pretty Lou, his son Freaky Kah and the rest of the Lost Boyz family.