Heavy D passes away at 44

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Very sad news has struck the world of music today. As TMZ.com and numerous other sources are reporting, renowned rapper Heavy D has passed away in a Los Angeles, California hospital near his Beverly Hills home. According to the report, he was found unconscious around 11:25 a.m. PST this morning, but retained consciousness and was able to speak when police arrived. Shortly after, however, he was pronounced dead at the young age of 44. No cause of death has been confirmed yet, but it has been indicated that foul play does not seem to be a factor involved with the tragedy.

Heavy D, whose real name is Dwight Arrington Myers, rose to prominence in the 1990s with songs such as the Heavy D & The Boyz hit single, “Now That We Found Love,” the theme song to the popular TV show In Living Color, and features on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous hit, “Jam,” and the remix to Janet Jackson’s 1990 hit, “Alright.” Myers will forever be remembered through his music; acting, which includes a cameo in the brand new Brett Ratner film, Tower Heist, starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller; production credits, which include Beanie Sigel’s popular 2004 single, “Feel It In The Air”; and pop culture references, including the famous lyric in Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”—Salt’n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine. But above all, as acclaimed author Dream Hampton stated on Twitter, Myers should be remembered as a great man and a great father.

Myers’ death comes unexpectedly, not only because of his age, but because just last month we saw him grace the stage at the BET Hip-Hop Awards for an energetic performance that catapulted him onto our Twitter feeds and back into our music rotation. Also, he just recently released his ninth album, Love Opus, in September of this year. Below, watch the video of Heavy D’s performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards and the music video for “Now That We Found Love.” Rest in peace to a true hip-hop legend.

Heavy D & The Boyz featuring Aaron Hall – “Now That We Found Love”