Rapper Heavy D died Tuesday at a Los Angeles hospital.
According to confirmed reports at TMZ.com, Heavy D was found conscious on the walkway near his Beverly Hills home around 11:25 a.m.
He was leaning against a railing and was having trouble breathing when a 911 call was placed by Adam Mills, a designer who “knew Heavy D.” He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. Foul play is not suspected, and an associate of Heavy D told TMZ the rapper had pneumonia.
Recording artists like India Arie expressed her sadness via Twitter, writing “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this one…bless his soul.”
Heavy D was born Dwight Errington Myers in Jamaica in 1967, according to Billboard.com. After moving to the Bronx, he became friends with Glen Parrish, Eddie Ferrell and Troy Dixon, and they formed the rap group Heavy D & the Boyz.
Living Large, Heavy D & the Boyz’s debut album, was released in 1987 and spawned hits like “Mr. Big Stuff,” while 1989’s Big Tyme served as the group’s commercial breakthrough with tracks like “We Got Our Own Thang.”
His first No. 1 on the Rap chart was 1989’s “Somebody for Me” and he later scored crossover hits with 1991’s “Now That We Found Love” and “Big Daddy” in 1997. His highest charting single came in 1990 when he teamed up with Janet Jackson on the No. 4 Hot 100 hit “Alright (Remix).
Last month, Heavy D performed “Jam” with LaToya Jackson at the Michael Jackson tribute concert in Wales. And most recently the rapper featured a cameo appearance in the movie “Tower Heist.”
