November 8, 2011 – Rapper and actor Heavy D dies at age 44

Ten days after Rapper and actor Heavy D performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards (at the end of October in 2011), his first televised live performance in 15 years, he died of a pulmonary embolism, shocking the nation’s music community.
Born Dwight Errington Myers in Jamaica, Heavy D was a rapper, record producer, singer and an actor. He was also the former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a hip hop group that was the first musical act signed by Uptown Records.
Heavy D also performed the theme song for the television program ‘In Living Color’ and performed the rap segment on Michael Jackson’s hit single “Jam.” He later started acting and appeared in several television shows before returning to his music. He was on the charts as a result of his song, “Nuttin’ But Love.”
Likewise, he played a major role in convincing Uptown Records’ Andre Harrell to hire Sean “Diddy” Combs as an intern.