VALLEJO, Calif. — As 8-year-old Mya rolled her new bike through the parking lot of Shiloh Community Church on Saturday, the handlebars with tassels gleaming in the sunlight, she smiled from ear to ear. She didn’t know who E-40 or Nef the Pharaoh were, but she’d had her Christmas wish granted.

“She really wanted a bike for Christmas, and unfortunately I didn’t have the funds. So we’re blessed,” said her mother, Melissa Reyes of Vallejo. Reyes brought Mya and her 2-year-old sister, Zurene, to a toy giveaway organized by the rappers, the church and several local businesses after hearing about it on social media.

Mya said she was happy that her new bike came with training wheels, so that she could learn to ride faster.

“It’s very cool,” she said. Zurene was ecstatic to get a new doll that came with a stroller, their mother said.

Hundreds of kids and their families attended the event, getting toys donated by the two Vallejo-born rappers, the church, community market M&M Liquors and other businesses.

Long lines snaked around the church parking lot at various stations where kids got footballs, scooters, board games and other toys. A raffle was held for large prizes like video game consoles. Young children hopped around in bounce houses, and a steady stream of kids rolled new bicycles out of the lot. The line to get onto the property was over a block long for hours. There were pony rides and appearances by Santa and the Grinch.

Food trucks served up food for attendees while a DJ entertained the crowd as excited kids ran circles around their parents. A smiling Nef the Pharaoh (Tonee Hayes) bagged up shoes.

The idea for the event began with Nef.

“I’ve always done a toy drive to give back to my community. I’m from South Vallejo. … That was the first thing I started doing when E-40 signed me when I started getting a little money here and there,” he said.

This year, Ayman Alghaithi of M&M Liquors approached Nef about partnering up for a larger event. Alghaithi also came up with the idea to get E-40 involved,

“Once Ayman came in, it just took flight. … We got over 300 kids, we got over 400, 500 items,” Nef said. “[E-40] donated to us and made this thing possible.”

E-40 (Earl Stevens) has had a very full year. He visited the White House with then-NBA-champs Golden State Warriors, expanded his growing food products and spirits brands, threw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants’ game honoring his contributions to Bay Area hip-hop, released a cookbook with Snoop Dogg and then his first new album since 2019 in November with Rule of Thumb: Rule 1. Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell presented him with a key to the city and renamed a portion of Magazine Street after him. He made a $100,000 donation to the music programs of his alma mater, Grambling State University, which later presented him with an honorary doctorate.

And he made an appearance at the toy giveaway, where before joining in on the revelry and gift-giving in the parking lot, he delivered a sermon of sorts inside the sanctuary about the importance of raising the community’s children right.

“I am a product of my environment, in a good way. The things that I learned, being from my soil, taught me life lessons,” E-40 told RIFF afterward. “I’ve seen it all, and I just want to be an inspiration to the new and old generation.”

He was quick to deflect attention from his own contribution to the event, passing credit to the church and M&M, which helped him get his start in the late ’80s by selling his music.

“We all family, and this event meant a lot to me. It got me all teary-eyed, because I grew up here,” he said. “This is the church we grew up in as a young mustache.”

He said that seeing many happy children present made the event successful.

“That’s all it’s about. … I’m about planting seeds,” he said.

Deacon Anthony Hines said Shiloh provides groceries to community members in need every Thursday, and routinely gives out meals and hygiene kits to the homeless, but called the Saturday event its biggest to date.

“It’s good to leave people smiling,” Hines said. “We’re not Jesus Christ, but it’s what it should be about.”

Mayor McConnell made it out as well.

“That was my first time hanging out with the mayor,” Nef the Pharaoh said. Nef and Alghaithi said the day’s success had them planning more community events in the future.

“We’re gonna be doing back to school, summer, all that. South Vallejo is back, thanks to Nef!” Alghaithi said.

Nef added that he’s got more plans for the future of Vallejo, including starting a foundation‚which he plans to call Brothers By Loyalty Foundation.

“We’re going to raise leaders, help the youth, help single dads, single moms,” he said.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter. Follow photographer Derek Fisher at Instagram.com/dfishswish.