HEAVY D - RIP - at age 44

[gosia]

His last tweet was "BE INSPIRED" wow... I can't believe he's gone.

[Hero1]

Rest in Peace to the great man..and I'm wishing you a peaceful journey...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHe6qMzq_Jg

[Turntable]

r.i.p. heavy d

[bigted]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHe6qMzq_Jg

[bigted]

didn't notice you posted the song tim but it's all good, so nice had to play it twice

[bigted]

[gosia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inPnVL41N_c

[bigted]

I was reading the part in Kool Moe Dee's "There A God On The Mic" book about Heavy D and decided to type it up, check it, PS-Post #10,000!:

#25-Heavy D "The All Purpose MC"

"Sittin' in my room
With my smoker's jacket on
The fireplace is burning
And the girly is warm
Time to make my move
So gently I kiss her
Twist her in her ear
And tell her that I miss her
She might try to pop that boyfriend junk
But I don't really care
Because I know he's a punk
I'll stomp 'em like a roach
If he tries to approach
He can't get close 'cause I'm the one who wrote
The book of romance
So come on take a chance
You don't need a long look
All you need is a glance
If I wanna get warm
In my arms you belong
You have a problem hev'll solve 'em
Nothin' can go wrong cause
The overweight lovers in the house"

Heavy D is the all-time go-to buy. He's one of the only emcees that sounds almost tailor=made for any type of record. His flavor is supremely flexible, thus, whenver he's flowing on a track, no matter what tempo it is, he's naturally a complement to the music. In fact, Heavy D is one of the few emcees that uses his voice like an instrument. He has some of the most enoyable inflections I ever heard. When you listen to a Heavy D song, you'll hear an exemplary, inviting voice. Like Spoonie Gee, Heavy D is mainly associated with being a ladies', "lover type" of emcee. His body of work, although predominantly geared towards the ladies, is very diverse within the lover's template. He comes hard-core, ballad-style, dance, R&B, humorously, sincerly, afrocentric, and sometimes he even comes in a vulnerable manner. His flow impeccable. Combine that with his flavorful deliverly, and you have one of the most enjoyable emcees ever.
Whenever you hear Heavy D, you get the sense that he's having fun. This is the main element of his charisma. I would venture to say other than Doug E. Fresh and Spoonie Gee, Heavy D is the most well-liked emcee ever. I have never heard anybody say they didn't like him. Some hard-core fans may have a problem with his musical approcach and subject matter, but they're never mad at Heavy D the emcee. This can also be attibuted to the fact that Heavy's never been the type of emcee never bragged about being better than anybody. He never flaunted his talent, success, or money in anyone's face. He kept his lyrics simple, and his songs focused on evoking a good time. However, sometimes Heavy's upbeat approach can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes Hip-Hop's talking heads stereotypically create the impression that hard-core emcees are somehow more relevant than other emcees. As a result, emcees like Heavy D get categorized as upbeat and fun-loving, and connotation that they are not serious emcees. This has been the case with Heavy, and should shed some light on how it's been possible for Heavy D not to be on every and any fifty greatest emcee/rapper lists. This is absurd. Heavy D's rap faculty is still tighter than 90 percent of the hottest emcees today. This argument shouldn't even have to be made.
If you honestly look at Heavy's body of work you would see that from 1986's "Mr. Big Stuff" through 1999's "Heavy", Heavy D has put out hit singles, albums, and superstar guest appearances almost every year. In fact he stood out so much from the pack of rappers in 1989 to 1993 that he was sought out for Levert's "Just Coolin'", Janet Jackson's "Alright", and Michael Jackson's "Jam". That didn't happen by accident. He also did the title songs to TV's In Living Color and Mad TV.
Simply put, Hev's the man. He's one of the most underrated emcees in the game, and he has many elements within his game that got overlooked. In 1990, he lost his best friend and backup dancer T-Roy. The following year, he showed his poignant side with the Peaceful Journey album. This shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone because in 1989 we made a record for the Stop The Violence Movement, "Self Destruction", and Heavy D spit one of the more poignant verses on the record. All in all, in the final analysis, Heavy D is more well-rounded, positive emcees ever to pick up a microphone. If you don't have the LP/CDs just pick up the greatest hits. I challenge you to tell me you don't hear the greatness! HEAVY D IS BY FAR, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE GREATS.

[bigted]

Nas, Common, and Russell Simmons are a few of the stars leading tributes to the icon


Nas, Common and rap mogul Russell Simmons are among the stars leading the tributes to hip-hop icon Heavy D, who died on Tuesday at the age of 44.

The rap veteran was reportedly found unconscious near his home in Beverly Hills and admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead.

His passing has sent shockwaves through the hip-hop world and a host of stars have taken to their Twitter.com blogs to express their grief at the tragic news.

Nas writes, "RIP TO A REAL HIP HOP LEGEND HEAVY D!", while Common tweets, "Heavy D was...no...is one of Hip-Hops [sic] finest. Your art and contribution will live 4ever [sic] brother! RIP Heavy D".

A stunned Q-Tip writes, "This can't be true", and The Roots drummer ?uestlove adds, "Heavy D was a good friend & he'll be missed."

Rap mogul Russell Simmons states, "I am deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Heavy D. A long time friend and a beautiful person", and Sean Kingston calls him "One Of The Most Influential Rappers Of The '90s Era."

Even Hollywood was mourning the loss of the rapper, who made a handful of movie appearances - actor Samuel L. Jackson called him a "dear friend", adding "Fond memories of a truly cool brutha [sic]."

Heavy D had just returned from a trip to London, where he hung out with British singer Estelle and R&B star Ne-Yo.

A shocked Estelle tweets, "RIP. Heavy D. i can't believe that. I can't. Was just in London w [with] him", while Ne-Yo adds, "Man. I was just with Heavy D recently in London. Had I known it'd be the last time I'd see him, I woulda [sic] told him he was truly great."

A slew of other hip-hop stars, including hitmaker/producer Pharrell Williams, veteran hip-hop DJ Grandmaster Flash, R&B singer Brandy and rapper Nelly have also expressed their condolences online.

Meanwhile, Public Enemy star Chuck D insists his friend was "a hip hop god", adding, "He will always be remembered and I'm thankful for what he's done for hip hop culture."

[Big Ben]

I was going to post this earlier but due to a power outage I had to wait. Anyway, there's one line that Heavy D said that should make all his fans happy.

"Size; ten and a half, sometimes eleven
Place of rest after death? Heaven
Favorite dessert; chocolate chip cake
Favorite dance - mine, the Heavy D Shake"
From 'More Bounce'

I also bolded 'chocolate chip cake' because that's legit.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Musicians Take To Twitter To Pay Tribute To Heavy D



By Jonah Bayer • 4 hours ago
Breaking News

.
Yesterday we lost a true rap icon when Heavy D passed away at the age of 44 and predictably after the news broke online many musicians took to Twitter to express their feelings about the heavyweight hero.
.
Usher wrote, “This is too heavy, I can’t believe it. HEAVY D was just here. Truly gone too soon. My heart and support goes out to his family. R.I.P HEAVY” while Missy Elliott wrote, “U will be missed Heavy D so many laughs we’ve shared but your Music is Timeless and will Always be Around 4ever Love u Heav…”
.
Additionally Nicki Minaj wrote, “We’ll never forget you babe! #hiphopelite #RIPHeavyD” and Sean Kingston confessed, “R.I.P Heavy D U Taught Me ALot About The Industry That Night At Record Plant Studios.. Which was only 3months ago SMH you Was A Great Guy.”
.
Furthermore the rappers peers like LL Cool J wrote, “R.I.P. HEAVY D I WILL DEFINITELY MISS YOU!!! (YOU LEFT THE WORLD TO SOON)” and Boyz II Men confessed “UGH…heavy d..always cool as hell with us..just a sick feeling….praying for his little daughter and family.”
.
Below is our own tribute to Heavy D: The video for his hit single “Now That We Found Love.”

[JumpinJack AJ]

Heavy D, As Remembered by Questlove

by questlove on November 9, 2011 6 Comments






“wait….you “produce produce??”- me
“yes negro! im tryna get to yall level man!” -Heavy D
“oh…..whew” -me
So im at my first Grammys. Radio City Music hall, feb 98. my label president Jay Boberg gave me his tickets so i can bask in the Grammy glory of one of the first non-Roots albums i helped produce that one big that night: Baduizm.
it was a surreal night: my tix were prime seats smack dab in the middle of royalty. Aretha Franklin just did a LAST MINUTE (!!!!)` fill in of “Ava Maria” for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti. this crazy “SOY BOMB” incident just went down with Bob Dylan, and of course Erykah shoutin me out for her winning album of the year (“we did it, Ahmir!”)
it was my first real “event.” i spent the entire past 5 years literally on the road, from 3 to a room, to fighting for pillows and blankets, to piss-fumed tour buses from the 80s, to empty houses, to “will it ever get better for us?” suddenly the stars aligning and now i get to hobknob with the gods i’ve worshipped for years. my suit was tight (as in i was clean) my date was right & it was gonna be a beautiful night.
this marks the night i met most of my hip-hop peers which was a great thing (Salt and Spinderella kept telling me how funny they thought this was…) and a not so great thing (Big’s manager Mark Pitts musta missed the memo the night this went down, for he was instantly on the horn like “yeah that Roots n***a here right now, what’s up? you coming down to handle this?” over the same video) —read that link thoroughly cause imma refer to this towards the end. of course i never stay where im not wanted and in light of both Pac and Big catching bad ones in the past year and a half i was not about to be a statistic cause someone missed their humor pills the morning they saw a humorous video not even personally aimed at them.
i debated on running to the bathroom at that very moment or waiting to get back to my hotel room while off the radar of any type of surprise attack. but this couldn’t wait. told her “3 mins”. seems like a flash but damn if that wasn’t long enough for her to be laughing like “damn the wolves are out tonight, 5 dudes just tried to gimme their business cards the instant you left.” we went through em amazed at how fast people operate when backs are turned. the most elaborate of the business cards read Dwight “Heavy D” Myers. i was like (playfully) “damn, even Hev tryna cock block” he was nowhere in sight, but then again i really wasn’t tryna look all that hard neither.
about 2 years later, things done changed.
after four attempts the Roots finally got their foothold inside the industry door. we formed a clique with like minded individuals and all made music together and suddenly our music and style didn’t seem like such a confusing hard sell as it was before. we now gained new fans in the established world because of our work with Erykah and D’Angelo and Jill Scott and Mos Def and Common and the like.
the strangest night of all occurred right before a 1am second show at LA’s house of blues. fall of 2000. my manager told me that superproducer/songwriter Babyface wanted a meeting with me. “Wow” i thought. “dude OWNED the charts in the 90s and just *poofed* disappeared.” the hell he wants with me? im the cat you call when you wanna make an art record or if you need some cred with critics. im not a hitmaker. i build albums. which is pretty much why all the artists i work with are new unheard of artists. not the established class. man i couldn’t take the pressure knowing i was the one responsible for blah blah blah’s string of hits coming to an end.
“so what type of meeting?”
i was explained that he is working on his comeback album (its been about 6 years) and he wants a new sound and is a fan of my work.
something aint right here.
Babyface?
me?!
hmmm.
all night on stage the thought was racking my brain. this guy had the ability to pull number one hits from tree bark
why me?!?!
round 90 mins later we’re offstage and as i walk towards my backstage dressing room i see like 3 big burly bodyguard lookin dudes. dressed in all black with sunglasses.
ok..
like the kind of big dudes hollywood screenwriters cast as the bad guys on those Showtime/HBO series. they tell me they’re taking me to see “Face at the studio”. still tryna process that thought i was like expecting to see some Burt Bacharach looking manager with this bifocals dangling off his nose (well, based on Face’s pop output of the past few i thought his staff would reflect his music) as we walk to this large towncar someone hands me the phone. “its Hev”
Hev?
“hello?……Hev? (who the hell is Hev?) sup?………oh……ok……sure…..”
someone named “Hev” said they at the studio right now and although face can’t make it, he wants me to hear some of the potential tracks.
so my mind is racing:
Hev? like Hev D? hell he doing on the phone as a proxy for Babyface?…why am i squeezed in the middle of this town car with clearly a collective 1000 lbs? (even the driver was burly. only other cat i know who rolls with a staff that can double as mutant giant navy seals is Em)
so suddenly im like…..wait….heavy d? the Grammys 96!, maybe he was rolling with Mark Pitts!!
(we turn into a back alley. real seedy like)
i mean…unless its some other Heavy i don’t know about
(these electronic gates open……crrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaakkk real real slow)
oh god….something aint right.
(we then enter a basement garage)
—i swear i heard the second part of Derek & the Dominoes “Layla” playing in the atmosphere.
“follow us”
its dark. greek columns is what i can make out as the 4 of us march in a desolate building in the middle of nowhere.
i really truly thought this was a wrap.
Puffy is finally gonna strike his overdue 4 year snowball in the freezer revenge on me in la.
gassing me up, making me think the most successful songwriter/producer franchise in the past decade wants my no track record having arse as a producer?
damn how could i be so gullible. now the soundtrack to Psycho is playing.
we walk up the last of the stairs and make a sharp left into a room when suddenly…..
“man, im stuck on these snare patches, i been stuck for like 2 hours tryna chop it right……whussup man! such a fan of yours man i was so nervous to meet you. Hev”
its hard to describe, but if you can imagine the exasperated “you are my density” look George McFly had on his face in Back to the Future. that just about sums it up.
i KNOW inside Hev was like “i know this cat is trippin on somethin”
but the 4 sec sigh of relief on my face man. i didn’t know if i was about to cry or piss on myself.
i had no clue Hev was a producer producer. at least the kind of producer that the man who won Producer Of The Year 3 years in a row would wanna work with. and what’s up with getting the Suge triplets to pick me up in that tiny ass town car?
and what the hell am i doing producing Babyface?!?!
kinda funny that once Face was conferenced on speakerphone i got my answer all at once:
he apologized for not being there but he had a business meeting in new york the next day and he had to prepare for it.
he explained was a big fan of the sound we gave Baduizm. the same album that edged him out for album of the year that night in radio city music hall. He met Heavy that same night (“….hey Face, did Heavy give you the elaborate 3d businesscard too?”—–”hahahahahahah how’d you’d know about that 3d card? NOONE had cards like that back in 97…” long story Hev. long story)
i guess you can say that Hev was the first adult contemporary rapper. which if you are a music snob you could almost write off with a scoff. but Hev always seemed to have a foot in the future quiet as it was kept, which was really admirable to me that a person “from the establishment” could sift out real talent:
it was Hev that included pre new jack godstatus Teddy Riley on his debut record. it was Hev that put his influential cousin Pete Rock on his first major hip hop production. it was Hev that gave bug-a-boo intern turned forbes mainstay Sean “Puffy” Combs his very first real job at Uptown records. it was Hev that first utilized the (now commonplace but then? a production quagmire) time compression production method for samples playing in the same bpms but using different keys (see “Love Sexy” on Blue Funk, historical hip hop 1st in production). not to mention using his influence to give an unsigned Notorious BIG his debut on the same album.
although i didn’t get a chance to contribute to Face2Face i did cement a great camaraderie with Mr. Myers. he taught me the value of maximizing your brand and leaving no stone unturned. he first put the idea in my head that older people haven’t given up on hip hop, but perhaps hip hop gave up on the older demographic (explaining to me why he was always perceived as “your aunt’s favorite rapper”) he always sought to balance out his career: make sure that he gave a good look to the younger audience, and a good look to the audience that was closer to his age with his forays into doing cameo spots on hit singles, theme songs for shows, and acting.
i last saw Hev as he did a cameo with The Roots in chicago and we went through a history of his hits. he was kinda nervous backstage and said he hasn’t done this in almost 8 years. i was about to ask him should we just stick to 1 or 2 joints instead of the 5 we planned on unleashing….cut to him leaping & jumping like it was 91 all over again. backstage i was like “what happened to all that nervous talk?!” he was like “man yall had me inspired! i was ready to do an entire album up there with yall, told you! i aint playin! im tryna get on yall level!”
thank you Hev. you were there all along.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Heavy D said to have seen doctor about cough days before death



November 9, 2011 | 7:07 am






24


18




Rapper Heavy D had seen a doctor in the days before his death on Tuesday, and police said there was no evidence of foul play.
A source told The Times that Heavy D had gone to a physician for a cough that may have been pneumonia.
Beverly Hills police said in a statement that "there are no obvious signs of foul play, and at this time his death is believed to be medically related."
Heavy D was stricken returning to his Beverly Hills condominium after a shopping trip and died a short time later at a hospital, authorities said.
Heavy D experienced breathing problems at his condo complex on Maple Drive and then collapsed.
PHOTOS: Heavy D | 1967-2011
"Upon arrival, officers discovered a male, 44 years old, conscious, communicative, but having difficulty breathing," the Beverly Hills Police Department said in a statement.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had no further details about his health.
RELATED:
PHOTOS: Notable Music Deaths of 2011
Rapper Heavy D dead after collapsing in Beverly Hills
Heavy D may have died from pneumonia complications
-- Andrew Blankstein

[bigted]

[bigted]

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.17612/title.busta-rhymes-you-aint-gotta-wait-til-im-gone-heavy-d-tribute