NEW HEAVY D ALBUM IN DECEMBER!

[JumpinJack AJ]

Heavy D Returns with Hit Reggae Album Vibes

10.14.08, 1:15 PM ET

Don't call it a comeback - more like a return to the righteous roots that nurtured him. Legendary Heavy D, (Dwight Myers) has found himself with one of the country's hottest new reggae albums, Vibes, released on his own Stride Ent. Label and distributed by Universal Music executives' Monte and and Avery Lipman's UMG brainchild, Federal Distribution, in conjunction with UMG owned subsidiary Fontana Distribution. Renowned record executive Jordan Katz is overseeing Federal Distribution and the rollout for Vibes.

Hev's new album currently owns the #2 spot on the iTunes Reggae chart. Propelled by the top-requested single and digital favorite, "Long Distance Girlfriend," the album has become a mainstay of Reggae playlists after only a month of release. Currently, the new album is available in digital-only format. The physical album will be released on December 16th across the U.S. "The aptly named 'Vibes' has wonderful music and lyrics that will take Hev's fans and new listeners on a beautiful journey from start to finish," stated Mr. Katz.

The versatile Heavy D is known as one of hip hop's most palatable and gregarious rap artists. On Vibes he has reignited his reggae pedigree on his latest and long awaited offering. Born in Jamaica, his family moved to Mount Vernon, NY when he was 8, but the charismatic artist has always seasoned his music with a peppering of reggae influences. Keeping busy the past decade with an array of production chores and an impressive acting resume, he was determined to clear the deck long enough to hit the studio and create music that would combine his noted production heft with the influential reggae rhythms he grew up loving. "Reggae's the first music I ever experienced," says Hev. "I've always mixed reggae and hip hop. But I came to a point where I felt I had put the exclamation mark on my hip hop career. I'm fortunate that I've been able to transfer the love, respect and passion I have for hip hop and reggae into my latest musical endeavor.

Vibes truly is a labor of love. Hev crafted the songs on his own timetable, ensuring that the 'vibe' and 'tlc' he felt for the music would inhabit the songs when the reggae spirit moved him.

Hev took great pains to imbue the album with an up-to-the-minute currency, but also anchors it with the kind of riveting authenticity that he has experience in his past collaborations with reggae giants such as Super Cat, Buju Banton, Josey Wales and others. "You can't fake this stuff," says Hev. "I learned a long time ago you go with the music that's in your heart or you don't go at all." "Long Distance Girlfriend," is the kind of nimble, horn-filled sonnet that grabs both avid reggae aficionados and mainstream music fans. Flexing his trademark repertoire of danceable rhythms, including the occasional 'Hev-mastered' signature hip hop beat (and even ska influences), songs such as "Love You Like This," featuring Barrington Levy, and the soaring "Queen Majesty," round out the hit album, with Hev's relaxed, confident manner shining through on every track.

Emerging on to the underground hip hop scene while still a teenager, Heavy D & The Boyz became one of the most embraceable brand names in hip hop households in the mid-1980s, with classics such as "Mr. Big Stuff," and "The Overweight Lover's In The House," among other hits. 1987's Living Large, and its follow-up Big Tyme, are regarded as seminal hip hop albums, with the latter album delivering the hits "Somebody For Me," and others.

Hev's lolloping sense of musical and strategic timing, coupled with his easy going demeanor, catapulted him beyond the world of music and into deeper entertainment waters. One of the first rapper-turned-label-chief/A&R execs, he eventually became President of trailblazing urban music imprint Uptown Records, helping to nurture the careers of artists such as Mary J. Blige and Jodeci, as well as a budding, streetwise mogul-in-the-making named Sean Puff Daddy Combs. Hev has also established a solid acting resume, by becoming an award winning theater actor and appearing in breakthrough movies such as Oscar nominated The Cider House Rules starring Tobey Mcguire and Charlize Theron, Life with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and Big Trouble directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, to name a few, parlaying his Hollywood success into memorable TV gigs such as his recurring role as Big Boy in the Emmy winning television drama Boston Public.

Never abandoning his love for making music, his stellar production credits through the years include lending his touch to Jay-Z's masterful 2003 opus, The Blueprint 2.1, with "Guns and Roses" featuring Lenny Kravitz, Carl Thomas's "Summer Rain", and Beanie Siegel's "Feel It In The Air" from the 2005 album The B. Coming, among others.

Also proud of the role he's played for several years now as a self proclaimed 'stay-at-home-dad,' Hev cites the full spectrum of experiences that have shaped his life as motivation for Vibes. "I've been blessed with family and work," he says. "I'm an artist by birth. When I reached for inspiration to make sure this album flowed with the kind of organic spirit I felt for this music - it was there. You can't ask for any more than that."

[JumpinJack AJ]

Heavy D Releases Reggae Album

American hip hop artiste, Heavy D (real name - Dwight Myers), has released a brand new album titled Vibes. Heavy D is most famous for a number of chart topping rap songs in the 1990, however this new release is a full reggae album. Born in Jamaica (in 1967), he has previously collaborated with Jamaican artistes such as Super Cat, Buju Banton and Frankie Paul on dancehall / reggae songs, and even some of his rap music has shown the distinct influence of the music of the country of his birth. Vibes is however is first effort at a complete reggae album, and his first new studio album in nearly a decade.

Vibes will be released this Tuesday (September 30) via iTunes, and on CD in early 2009. It features collaborations from Junior Reid, Barrington Levy among others.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Rap Legend Heavy D Goes Reggae With New Album

by reggaewire | September 30, 2008 at 08:55 am | 153 views | add comment

by reggaewire

by reggaewire

slideshow view all 2 Rap veteran Heavy D came out of the New York scene in the mid-'80s, finding fame for such hits as 'Now That we Found Love' and 'Got me Waiting,' as well as rapping on Michael Jackson's 'Jam' and doing the theme to the hit show 'In Living Color.' But the MC was actually born in Jamaica, home of reggae. And now Heavy is embracing the music of his birth land.

"I have a brand new reggae album coming out Sept. 30 called 'Vibes.' And it's just me going back to my roots, my birthright," he tells the Boombox. "I went back into the '60s and '70s without a lot of the ska kind of feel and just [got] that rawness with the drums and the beautiful imperfections I like to call them, just where people get in a room and you have five dollars to make your album and that was it. I reached out to a lot of wonderful musicians and I think we came out with something extremely special."

Having concentrated on his acting in recent years, 'Vibes' marks his first new studio album in nearly a decade. Why return with this album now? "It's just something I've been working on for quite some time, four or five years at least," he says. "I felt I got it to a place where it wouldn't be any better than it is."

Given his pride in 'Vibes,' he is looking forward to sharing it live. "Yes you will [see me on the road], in a big way, with a band and everything," he says. "That's what I'm excited about, being able to perform with a band."

There are a lot of great reggae fests around the world, but if he got to do his own with this album, he tells the BoomBox, it'd be a pretty amazing lineup. "If I could open up for the dream gig it would be Sting, Sade, UB40, and myself, cause that's kind of what this album represents, that level of reggae," he says. "And god bless Bob Marley."

The Reggae News Agency

www.riddimjamaica.net | www.riddimja.com

[JumpinJack AJ]

***THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM COMING OUT...I WAZ JUST ON A DIGGING TRIP AND FOUND THIS ABOUT THE "NEW" ALBUM WE HEARD ABOUT A FEW YEARS AGO***

Heavy D Hires Hip-Hop Heavies For Comeback LP, H.E.V.Rapper returning to the game after taking time off to explore acting.

By Jon Wiederhorn

When you've been out of the spotlight for a while, one good way to make a triumphant return is to surround yourself with big names. The formula's not foolproof, as evidenced by Run-D.M.C.'s Crown Royal, but it sure worked for Santana, so heavyweight rapper Heavy D is willing to give it a shot.

His new album, H.E.V., will feature appearances by Faith Evans, Loon and P. Diddy, who will also provide production assistance. The rapper only has three tracks left to cut, and he hopes to have the disc out early next year. On other fronts, Heavy D is working with Jay-Z on a track for the superstar's next album, and he's also been in the studio with Fat Joe.

Heavy D left the rap world after 1999's Heavy to focus on his acting career (appearing in such films as "The Cider House Rules," "Larceny" and "Big Trouble"), and during that time the hip-hop scene gravitated away from the old-school funky grooves upon which Heavy D thrived. He's convinced the respite was healthy, and now he's returning to the game in an era that's more embracing of his trademark style.

"The way music is now, it just fits what I do," he said. "It's melodic and really danceable and headed back to being fun, and I want to be a part of that."

At the same time, Heavy D is making an effort to reach out to folks who grew up with his music but who might have abandoned hip-hop style as they've aged.

"I'm making records to fit a generation that's kind of lost right now," he explained. "There are lots of people who are in their twenties and thirties who still are hip-hop fans, but now they're lawyers, they're doctors, they're schoolteachers, and they don't really get into the day to day slang of hip-hop right now. They're not gonna wear their jeans a certain way and they're not going to wear certain clothes. So I think I'm trying to reach out to that as well as the younger market. When you have the combination of hip-hop and pop, I think you can invite everybody to it."

Songs on H.E.V. include "Just a Little Bit" (featuring Loon, with production by P. Diddy), "Would You Love Me?" (with Faith Evans and P. Diddy) "They Love Me California," "Heavy" and the reggae-tinged "Delilah."

While it's too early to announce a single, Heavy D is especially proud of the cut with Evans, on which he raps, "If I never made a video/ If I never made all of this dough/ Would you love me?/ Would you still be down for me?"

"It's me putting myself in this scenario where I'm going, 'What if I really wasn't this guy that I am now?' " Heavy said. "Would this crop of folks I've got around me eyeing me on a day to day basis still love me? Probably not."

In addition to working on his own record, Heavy D has been busy with a slew of production and writing projects. P. Diddy recruited his services for a number of baby groups on Bad Bay, and he's also worked with Black Rob and G. Dep. The project he's buzzing the most about at the moment, however, is a track he's just written for the next Jay-Z album.

"It's very different. I can't go into detail too much, but it's something very different, and people ain't expecting it," he said. "It's incredible. When I brought it to him, we sat in the car for like an hour just vibing to it. And he was like, 'I gotta do the record.' So, we're finishing up now."

Heavy D has also been helping out his old friend Fat Joe. The two have frequently talked about collaborating, but it didn't happen until recently when Joe was having trouble with a few tracks for his next record.

"He played me a couple of things that weren't flowing, so I was like, 'A'ight, by the time I get to New York I'm going to have one for you,' " recalled Heavy. "When I got in, I called him up and was like, 'Yo, check this out.' And he listened to it and was like, 'Yo, I have to do that.' So, we went to the studio and just laid it down."

[JumpinJack AJ]

On a random note, after reading this, i went Hev D crazy and just got a ton of stuff on ebay. Things i know about...a few things i didn't know about. One of them was a bulk of CD singles/promos. Soon i'll have remixes of "Nuttin' But Love," "Truthful" (one of my all time favz), and a Pete Rock Remix of "Sex Wit U."

The real gems are singles i could never find off the Universal/Bad Boy 2005. Between 3 promos, i'll have the songs Don't Stop, Big Booty Girls, Never Did It Before, and another song that i can't remember the title of. Heavy D has always been in my personal top 3 (along with FP and LL). All u itunes Heavy D fans should check out that new album and tell us how it is.

[bigted]

Thanks for all the info AJ, Heavy D is one of my favorite mcs as well, I usually like getting CDs, not really a big itunes head but I'm gonna definately check for this, that "Long Distance Girlfriend" track is fire!

[Hero1]

heavy d does a reggae album latifah does jazz standards.. i want rap albums from these guys!!

[JumpinJack AJ]

I agree...but Heavy D has always done reggae and dancehall tracks here and there. This isn't as shocking as when Latifah did jazz albums. Hev said he was doing a reggae album back in the mid-90's and it never happened. He'll be rhyming soon enough i'm sure.