Tribute To The Legendary Heavy D
Some of you out there may not know much about Heavy D and his impact on hip-hop.
Dwight Arrington Myers was born in Jamaica, grew up in Mount Vernon, New York and took the hip-hop world by storm when his group Heavy D & The Boyz dropped “The Overweight Lover’s In The House” and flipped the classic hit “Mr. Big Stuff” in 1987.
Not only did he make light of his size but his music was fun without being soft. The big man was dancing, flowing, and he was able to get female fans minus the hate from the fellas.
Heavy D & The Boyz were the first group signed to Uptown Records and Living Large was the first album released by the group that included DJ Eddie F and dancers G-Whiz and Trouble T. Roy. The second album, Big Tyme was Hev’s first platinum album that spawned four hit records.
One of those hit records was “Girlz, They Love Me.” Along with “We Got Our Own Thang,” and “Somebody For Me,” they solidified Heavy D as a mainstay in the game.
Penning the theme for In Living Color got national attention for the group but Trouble T. Roy’s fatal accident was a dark moment in hip-hop.
Heavy D. was one of a kind in a sense that he wasn’t as happy as Kid N’ Play but he made party music, he wasn’t a sex symbol like LL Cool J physically but the ladies loved him and he had crossover appeal and hood love without compromising.
He collaborated with Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, he actually entertained with choreography and remained hip-hop.
The Overweight Lover followed in the footsteps of his female counterpart Queen Latifah and got bit by the acting bug and was casted on the series A Different World playing himself.
Then he got recurring roles on Living Single and Roc then eventually broke into films.
“Heavy D. up on my wall, every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl,” -The Notorious B.I.G.
When Biggie referenced Heavy D. as an artist he looked up to and then gave him a cameo in the “One More Chance” remix video it gave Heavy some credibility that surpassed the era he was a part of.
Biggie was the new overweight icon with a harder edge and he showed love to his predecessor.
Peaceful Journey was dedicated to T. Roy and also went platinum. Blue Funk followed in 1993 and with it’s bassy, darker sound it was awarded a gold plaque.
Some artists don’t know when to walk away but Heavy D never wore out his welcome.
Nuttin But Love sold one million records in 1994 and Waterbed Hev went gold in 1997.
But with a focus on the silver screen and production, The Hevster was never really far away.
Roles in the movie New Jersey Drive, Life, Big Trouble, Step Up and most recently Tower Heist with Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller proved that Heavy D transcended genres, and stood the test of time.
Check out one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta in the video below.
Heavy D. was also featured on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bones, Yes, Dear, The Tracy Morgan Show and Boston Public.
Heavy produced the record “Guns & Roses” for Jay-Z featuring Lenny Kravitz.
Heavy’s last nationally televised performance was this year at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. He got an ovation from the audience at he did a medley of some of his hits.
The 44-year-old rapper, actor, producer and reggae artist will be missed. His cause of death is still unknown but is believed to be a respiratory issue.
“My heart goes out to the family and [loved] ones of Heavy D,” tweeted La Toya Jackson.
“Stop for a second, take a breath and realize how lucky you are to be alive,” Ice-T wrote after hearing the news.
“We had a lot of great times touring together. He had a heart of gold,” tweeted MC Hammer.
Pete Rock said, “No words can describe the sadness I feel inside my heart. Hev was my biggest cheerleader, introduced me to the game and he Dwight Errington Meyers p/k/a Heavy D most importantly was my family. This is a very sad night for me. He was good to be true.”
Peep how congenial he is with TMZ as he conducts one of his last interviews and talks about his diversity acting on screen, off Broadway and doing new music. R.I.P Heavy D.
