May 24: Jamaican American rapper and actor Heavy D - AKA Dwight Myers - was born on this date in 1967...

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He died on November 8, 2011 at the age of 44 in Los Angeles, California. He collapsed outside his Beverly Hills home and was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. It has been reported that his death was due to respiratory distress and that no foul play was involved.

Heavy D's last public appearance and performance was in the movie Tower Heist, which premiered only 4 days before his death.

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Dwight Myers better known as Heavy D, was a Jamaican American rapper, singer and former leader of hip hop group Heavy D & the Boyz. The group attracted maintained a sizable audience in the U.S. through most of the 1990s. He recently ventured into reggae music and is often described as a reggae fusion artist.

Heavy D showcased a likable persona and strong MC skills backed up by the Boyz. He varied his lyrical concerns to include positive message tracks and fun-loving party jams, and exhibited a genuine warmth and respect for women without getting overly sentimental.

He mixed elements of R&B, reggae, dance, and pop into his music, tied together with quick-tongued raps. He was an agile dancer, a naturalistic actor, and an astute businessman who eventually became a label executive. Even after his career as a hitmaker ended, his popularity continued through the '90s.

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Myers was born in Jamaica. His family moved to Mount Vernon, New York, when he was a young child.

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, though Big Tyme was a breakthrough that included four hits.

Boyz member Trouble T. Roy died at age 22 in a fall on July 15, 1990, in Indianapolis. Dixon's passing led to a tribute on the follow-up platinum album, Peaceful Journey. Pete Rock & CL Smooth created a tribute to Trouble T. Roy called "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" which is regarded as a hip-hop classic.

Heavy D & the Boyz gained even more fame 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." However, the group's next album, Blue Funk, was not marketed as well as their previous albums, but is still widely acclaimed.

Heavy D then began focusing on his acting, appearing in the television shows A Different World, Roc and Living Single 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 played the song "Now That We Found Love" during the ending scene where a wedding party does a line dance, and gave Heavy D & the Boyz a lot of exposure.

He then appeared in the film Life, before being in the cast of the television show Boston Public. In 2002, Heavy D had a supporting role as an FBI agent alongside Omar Epps in the movie adaptation of Dave Barry's novel Big Trouble.
In 2003 he starred in the supporting cast for the sit-com The Tracy Morgan Show as Bernard.

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.

In 2005, Heavy D appeared as Sid in the hit Fox drama Bones, as the owner and bartender at Wong Fu's. In 2006, he appeared in the motion picture, Step Up, as Omar. Heavy D also appeared as Bo-Kane in the 1995 film New Jersey Drive.

Heavy D has now released a new reggae album via iTunes, called Vibes.

Heavy D was referred to in the song "Juicy" by the Notorious B.I.G. and in " Da Girls They Love Me" by underground rapper R.A. the Rugged Man. He also appears as the bouncer in the music video for "One More Chance" by Notorious B.I.G.


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