Dwight Arrington Myers, known to the music world as "Heavy D," has died at age 44 of unknown causes in Los Angeles. Heavy D's positive demeanor and sense of humor -- and his quick rhymes -- made him a favorite in the hip hop community.
Dwight Arrington Myers, known to the music world as "Heavy D," has died at age 44 of unknown causes in Los Angeles. Heavy D's positive demeanor and sense of humor -- and his quick rhymes -- made him a favorite in the hip hop community.
Heavy D & the Boyz were the first group signed to Uptown Records; their debut, Living Large, was released in 1987. The album was a commercial success and the follow up album, Big Tyme, shot all the way to #1 and included four hits. These began a 10 year string of hits that made Heavy D & the Boyz among the most popular groups in the hip hop world.
Heavy D & the Boyz branched out by singing the theme song for the television program In Living Color and also MADtv, and Heavy D performed the rap on Michael Jackson's hit single "Jam" as well as sister Janet Jackson's hit single "Alright". Heavy D then began focusing on his acting, appearing in the television shows before returning the music charts with Nuttin' But Love. After appearing in the off-Broadway play Riff Raff at Circle Repertory Company, Heavy D returned to recording with the hit "Waterbed Hev." In 2005, the Will Smith movie Hitch included the group's biggest crossover hit, "Now That We Found Love." In 1997, Heavy D collaborated with B.B. King on his duets album Deuces Wild rapping in the song "Keep It Coming." He also had a small role in the 1999 Oscar-nominated movie The Cider House Rules.
Heavy D most recently performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in October 2011. He will be missed.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Heavy D.
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