Born Dwight Arrington Myers in May 24, 1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica, Heavy D is an American actor, rapper, producer, singer and former leader of Heacy D & the Boyz, a hip-hop group which included G-whiz (Glen Parrish), “Trouble” T. Roy (Troy Dixon), and Eddie F (born Edward Ferrell).  The group maintained a sizable audience in the United States through most of the 1990s.  Teddy Riley, Marley Marl, his cousin Pete Rock and Eddie F., produced the five albums the group released.

His parents, Euhlalee Lee, a nurse, and Clifford Vincent Myers, a machine technician, had five children when they moved their family to Mt. Vernon, NY, during the 1970s.  Dwight, the youngest, became known in his neighbor-hood as Heavy D and started on a regular diet of American rap.

Their demo tape reached Def Jam executive André Harrell, who was in the process of forming his own label, Uptown.  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.  The singles “Mr. Big Stuff” and “The Overweight Lover’s in the House” established Heavy D’s image among rap fans, and “Don’t You Know” was a crossover hit on the R&B charts, narrowly missing the Top Ten. All told, Living Large was a gold-selling hit.

The follow-up album, 1989′s Big Tyme, was the group’s real breakthrough. Like its predecessor, it featured production from both Marley Marl and new jack swing guru Teddy Riley.  Trouble T. Roy died at age 22 in a fall on July 15, 1990, in Indianapolis.  Dixon’s death 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” as well as sister Janet Jackson’s hit single “Alright”.  Heavy D then began focusing on his acting, appearing in various 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 1997, Heavy D collaborated with B.B. King on his duets album Deuces Wild rapping in the song “Keep It Coming.”  Heavy D was referred to in the song “Juicy” by the Notorious B.I.G., and appeared in his music video for “One More Chance”.

He also appeared in the 1999 Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence comedy Life and landed a prominent supporting role in the Oscar-nominated drama The Cider House Rules.  In 2000, he was most visible as a counselor on the Fox high-school drama Boston Public, which lasted for the next several years, as he worked on albums by Babyface, Jay-Z, Fabolous, and Timbaland, among others.  During the rest of the decade, he had recurring roles on The Tracy Morgan Show and Bones, while he also recorded Vibes, a convincing and enjoyable album of reggae-pop.

Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in October 2011.  Although it was his first live performance in 15 years, it was also his final live performance.  Myers died on November 8, 2011, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 44.  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.

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Rapper Heavy D who scored hit singles such as “Now That We Found Love,” died on Tuesday (November 8, 2011) at the young age of 44 after falling at his Beverly Hills home, according to media reports.  The rapper whose real name is Dwight Arrington Myers was reportedly found on a walkway and an ambulance was called.  When emergency workers arrived he was conscious and speaking but died later at a nearby hospital.

Beverly Hills police confirmed the basic information but declined to release a name pending family notification.  Police Lt. Mark Rosen said a man was found on a walkway at 2:25 p.m. EST, conscious and talking, but having difficulty breathing.  He was rushed to a hospital where he died on Tuesday afternoon.  Further details were undisclosed pending an investigation, but Rosen said there were no signs of foul play.

The singer’s New York-based agent was not immediately available for comment.  Rotund rapper Heavy D was born in Jamaica and moved to Mt. Vernon, New York as a child.  He enjoyed hip-hop music as a kid forming his first group, the Boyz, with high school friends who took the stage namely DJ Eddie, Trouble T-Roy and G-Wiz.  The group then became Heavy D & The Boyz releasing their first album in 1987, which includes singles “Mr. Big Stuff” and “The Overweight Lovers in the House.”  Their Breakout album came with 1989’s “Big Tyme,” which included the hits “Somebody for Me” and “We Got Our Own Thang.”

The band met with tragedy in 1990 when Trouble T-Roy died in an accident.  One year later, they scored their biggest hit with the album “Peaceful Journey” and single “Now That We Found Love,” which reached the top five on R&B charts and crossed over to mainstream pop audiences.  A couple of single came to hit in the 1990s.  The band sang the theme song for popular TV show “In Living Color,” and Heavy D’s 1999 CD “Heavy” became his seventh album to chart among the R&B top 10.

During those years, the rapper also began acting, working in small roles on film and TV before landing a role in high-school TV drama “Boston Public”.  His film work included parts in “The Cider House Rules,” “Step Up” and “Big Trouble.”  The Jamaican-born rapper also appeared in the recent flick “Tower Heist” directed by Brett Ratner and starred by Eddie Murphy, which is currently playing in theaters.  His final appearance was brief but memorable.  He played as a courthouse guard in the said flick.  Nothing too fancy, but he was surrounded by fantastic actors and previous collaborators in his final cinematic effort.  Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards and at the Michael Jackson tribute show in Cardiff, Wales, both in October.

Andre Harell said that he remember getting Heavy D to work with then-choreographer Rosie Perez and him looking at Harell as if he wanted to say should they really need to do that.  According to Harell, a big man dancing is going to be really fun for people and it is going to make them love him.  Andre Harell started the record company, Uptown Records from which Heavy D’s act was the first to sign up.