![]() Heavy D Dwight Arrington Myers May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011 |
I had several encounters with Heavy D, all of which were impromptu chance events in my personal life.
It had been my habit to watch the Arsenio Hall show before retiring during that spate of hell teaching in the local state technical college system.
One night he came on and did a song and dance number that was really striking with his characteristic vocalizations and dancing all over the stage.
Mr Hall came out afterward and marveled at his rhythm and those highly dynamic dance aspects saying how he thought these were manufactured by cinematic professionals when he saw them earlier and how he didn't realize the man could both sing and dance implying the prowess and agility of a much younger man.
Never having been a hip hop fan nor one of that fusion which was his trademark, it was indeed impressive even in my eyes.
Dwight Arrington Myers aka Heavy D, was a Jamaican-born American rapper, singer, actor, and record producer.
He was the leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a quasi hip hop fusion group which included dancers/background vocalists.
They maintained a significant share of the hip hop audience in the United States through the better part of the 1990s.
Heavy D & the Boyz released five albums and did many live and television appearances during that time.
Heavy D's final live performance was on October 11, 2011. He passed the following November 8, 2011, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 44 after collapsing outside his home in Beverly Hills, California.
After transport to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center his death was initially thought to be connected to pneumonia with autopsy confirming the cause of death to be pulmonary embolism likely caused by a recent long airplane trip.