Most knew him as Dwight Arrington Myers born May 24, 1967, in Jamaica, West Indies and then to but the rest of the world including us knew him as Hip-hop's original “OVERWEIGHT LOVER" Heavy D.
The rap group Fat Boys made being fat ok but funny… Heavy D made being big cool. Weighing in at over 250 pounds, his girth could easily have become a one-note premise, but he varied his lyrical concerns to include positive message tracks and fun-loving party jams, and exuded a genuine warmth and respect for women without getting too graphic or sentimental. His appeal was just as broad -- he was able to mixed elements of R&B, reggae, dance, and pop into his music, but his raps were quick-tongued enough that he avoided the accusations of selling out that dogged many other crossover successes of his era. Moreover, he was an all-around talent -- an agile dancer, a naturalistic actor, and an astute businessman who eventually became a label executive. Even after his hits had ended, he maintained a solid, steady level of popularity all the way through the '90s, and his albums kept on going gold.Not to mention his saying “Diddlely diddley diddley diddley diddley D” (say that a few times over…lol).
During his career the man went thru being big time with his friends who by the way were all known as Heavy D and The Boyz which consisted of high school friends DJ Eddie F (born Eddie Ferrell), Trouble T-Roy (born Troy Dixon), and G-Wiz (born Glen Parrish).This group cranked out many hits such as singles "Mr. Big Stuff" ,"The Overweight Lover's in the House”, “Don’t You Know",. "Somebody for Me," "We Got Our Own Thang," "Gyrlz, They Love Me”,” Now That We Found Love" and many more hits followed.
During the height of the groups career a tragedy too place when Trouble T-Roy was killed in an accident on July 15, 1990.Somehow he and the group moved on but Trouble T T-Roy was never forgotten. The Peaceful Journey cd was another platinum-selling hit, and also was more of a “dedicated to their fallen friend. The hits that were spawned from this cd were "Now That We Found Love," which made Heavy D a full-fledged mainstream success; it reached the R&B Top Five and just missed the pop Top Ten. "Is It Good to You" and the posse cut "Don't Curse".
Heavy D also caught the acting bug around this time and I thought he was very good at that too. Heavy had a recurring supporting character on the Fox sitcom Roc in 1993 which and then also ended up with a role on the sitcom Living Single. Eventually Heavy wanted to venture out and do things differently. Sometimes being a little different can “make or break” an artist and career.
Heavy D decided to goooooooo solo in ’97 and released Waterbed Hev and the single "Big Daddy" which was a hit. His seventh album, 1999's Heavy, became his seventh straight to reach the R&B Top Ten. Heavy D 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 and then landed a recurring role as a counselor on the Fox high-school drama Boston Public in 2000, which lasted for the next several years. What we will remember about Heavy D’s music and his career is that you should NEVER compromise who you are and enjoy what it is that you do and that also includes life!
To you Heavy D….The Raydio Twins say Rest In Peace the world was a better place because you were in it!
