By Rachel Ogbu

US rapper and international hip-hop superstar, Heavy D is dead. The 44-year-old passed away on Tuesday afternoon, November 8, after falling at his Beverly Hills home, according to media reports.
News breaking from the TMZ.com website said that Heavy D was found yesterday on the floor and an ambulance was called. He was awake and was communicating quite well at the time. A friend at the scene confirmed he was saying: “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,”   and when paramedics arrived, he had a pulse but died later at a nearby hospital.
The rapper whose real name is Dwight Errington Myers, was very popular in the 80s and 90s for hit singles like; “Now That We Found Love” and “Peaceful Journey” which he released with his group; ‘Heavy D & The Boyz.’
Lt. Mark Rosen from the Beverly Hills police department 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. 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.
Heavy D was born in Jamaica and moved to Mt. Vernon, New York as a child. His group released their first album in 1987, which included singles “Mr. Big Stuff” and “The Overweight Lover’s 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.”
In 1991, 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.  Heavy D’s 1999 CD “Heavy” became his seventh album to chart among the R&B top 10.
He also acted in some Hollywood films. His film work included parts in “The Cider House Rules,” “Step Up” and “Big Trouble.”
Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards and at the Michael Jackson tribute show in Cardiff, Wales, both in October this year.

Oluwapelumi