a month ago
247
1
Posted On: September 10th 2026, 09:05 pm
he flew home from a concert in the uk. one month later he was dead. he was 44.
dwight arrington myers was born in mandeville, jamaica in 1967 and grew up in mount vernon, new york. he was heavy. he was smiling. he was fast on the mic in a way no one had heard before, light on his feet, playful, romantic, dangerous when he wanted to be.
in 1986 he formed heavy d & the boyz with three friends. they were the first group ever signed to andre harrell's brand-new label, uptown records. that decision would build an era. uptown became the launching pad for teddy riley's new jack swing, for a young a&r named sean combs, for mary j blige, jodeci, guy, the whole sound of black music between 88 and 95 ran through that door. and heavy d walked through it first.
"now that we found love" dropped in 1991. it was everywhere, weddings, cookouts, block parties, radio, mtv.
after the boyz he became president of uptown records. then he acted. he sang reggae. he took years off to be present as a father.
in october 2011 he performed with eddie f at the bet hip hop awards, his first live tv performance in 15 years. the crowd lost it. it looked like a beginning.
less than a month later, on the morning of november 8, 2011, he collapsed on the walkway outside his beverly hills home. he was taken to cedars-sinai. he never woke up. the coroner ruled it a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that formed in his leg during the long flight home from cardiff, where he had just performed at a michael jackson tribute. deep vein thrombosis. it hit him quietly.
he was 44.
what makes it hurt is how ordinary it was. no beef. no bullet. just a man who got on a plane, came home, and never got another chance to say goodbye.
heavy d rapped joy in a genre that too often had to rap survival. he made the biggest guy in the room the softest one on the record.
we love you, heavy. thank you for the smile.
@fromrap
#heavyd #nowthatwefoundlove #uptownrecords #hiphophistory #90shiphop #newjackswing #fromrap
dwight arrington myers was born in mandeville, jamaica in 1967 and grew up in mount vernon, new york. he was heavy. he was smiling. he was fast on the mic in a way no one had heard before, light on his feet, playful, romantic, dangerous when he wanted to be.
in 1986 he formed heavy d & the boyz with three friends. they were the first group ever signed to andre harrell's brand-new label, uptown records. that decision would build an era. uptown became the launching pad for teddy riley's new jack swing, for a young a&r named sean combs, for mary j blige, jodeci, guy, the whole sound of black music between 88 and 95 ran through that door. and heavy d walked through it first.
"now that we found love" dropped in 1991. it was everywhere, weddings, cookouts, block parties, radio, mtv.
after the boyz he became president of uptown records. then he acted. he sang reggae. he took years off to be present as a father.
in october 2011 he performed with eddie f at the bet hip hop awards, his first live tv performance in 15 years. the crowd lost it. it looked like a beginning.
less than a month later, on the morning of november 8, 2011, he collapsed on the walkway outside his beverly hills home. he was taken to cedars-sinai. he never woke up. the coroner ruled it a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that formed in his leg during the long flight home from cardiff, where he had just performed at a michael jackson tribute. deep vein thrombosis. it hit him quietly.
he was 44.
what makes it hurt is how ordinary it was. no beef. no bullet. just a man who got on a plane, came home, and never got another chance to say goodbye.
heavy d rapped joy in a genre that too often had to rap survival. he made the biggest guy in the room the softest one on the record.
we love you, heavy. thank you for the smile.
@fromrap
#heavyd #nowthatwefoundlove #uptownrecords #hiphophistory #90shiphop #newjackswing #fromrap
Comments (1)
More posts
