Friday is ordinarily a sad anniversary for Erie hip-hop star C. Brown. He's choosing to flip that upside down.

Brown and DreamBig Promotions put together Cherish Life, a multi-artist showcase of new and emerging hip-hop talent at the Beer Mug. The show will unfold 24 years to the day after Brown lost his father, Charles E. Brown.

"My father passed away when I was 3 years old on Feb. 27, which is also his birthday," Brown said. "I've never done anything in honor of him because it's so personal.

"I'm older now, and I'm more mature and I understand a little bit more and am starting to come to terms with his passing and to accept it. I figure it's better late than never to do something in honor of him."

Zeek Diamond, Doc Proto, Nina Lynnae, Crown Boyz, Rythem Ink and YB will perform 15-to-20 minute sets. Brown will host Cherish Life, and may also perform a song or two.

Charles Edward Brown died at age 41 from lingering effects of Agent Orange on Feb. 27, 1991, according to C. Brown. He was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War, and worked as a housekeeping foreman at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Proceeds from Friday's concert will go to the Erie VA Medical Center.

All Brown knows about his father is what he's gleaned from his family, including his mother, his older brother Gary, sister Delia and grandmother, Mary Alice Brown.

"I've heard that I'm a lot like him," Brown said. "He enjoyed music a lot. He had his own room when we lived on Third and Reed (streets), where he would go into and play his records. I remember the room but not him.

"I missed out on a lot," he added. "I learned he was definitely a hardworking man, he was a family man. He loved all of us."

Brown decided the best way to spend Friday is by celebrating life with music by established artists and newer ones.

"I wanted to choose people that have some clout in the city, and some up-and-coming artists, too," he said. "I wanted to show the local talent that people know about and that a lot of people don't know about."

He named the event Cherish Life for a reason.

"This event was inspired by me losing him too soon," Brown said. "I want people to understand how valuable life is because it can be gone before you know it. This event is to connect us all because we all have lost someone, and we're sending out a message through hip-hop."