BATON ROUGE - The Metro Council and Mayor-President Sid Edwards celebrated the life of Seabell "Mama" White Thomas and welcomed rapper Toosii to Baton Rouge on Wednesday.

Officials recognized Thomas for her work as director of the South Baton Rouge Community Service Center and coordinator of its veterans program for "Mama Seabell Day."

She also opened the Silver Moon Cafe on Oleson Street in 1985, which eventually closed in 2007. Thomas died last month; her family accepted a certificate on her behalf.

The council also welcomed award-winning rapper and LSU student Toosii to the capital city. He's taking a break from the studio to focus on training to be a walk-on wide receiver for LSU football team.