Heavy D was born Dwight Errington Myers in Mandeville, Jamaica in 1967 and moved with his family to Mount Vernon, New York, as a young child.He discovered rap music at its inception, and by junior high was making his own demo tapes. He later formed the Boyz with high-school friends DJ Eddie F (born Eddie Ferrell), Trouble T-Roy (born Troy Dixon), and G-Wiz (born Glen Parrish). Their demo tape reached Def Jam executive André Harrell, who was in the process of forming his own label, Uptown.

Hip-hop’s original overweight lover, Heavy D parlayed an eminently likable persona and strong MC skills into a lengthy career in music, television, and film. 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 warmth and respect for women without getting too graphic or sentimental. Musically, his appeal was just as broad — he was able to mix 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.

Peaceful Journey was another platinum-selling hit, thanks to the single “Now That We Found Love” — a modernized version of the Gamble/Huff composition originally recorded by the O’Jays — 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” were also popular with hip-hop fans, and the MC was also a weekly television presence via his theme song for the sketch comedy series In Living Color. Released in 1993, Blue Funk was a tougher effort with productions from Pete Rock (his younger cousin), DJ Premier, and Tony Dofat; despite its lack of pop appeal, it managed to go gold.

Heavy D & the Boyz returned to platinum status with 1994′s Nuttin’ But Love, which spawned hits in “Black Coffee,” the R&B Top Five “Got Me Waiting,” and the title track; it also became their second album to top the R&B charts. In the meantime, he 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. In 2000, he was most visible as a counselor on the Fox high-school drama Boston Public, which lasted for the next several years, as he worked on albums by Babyface, Jay-Z, Fabolous, and Timbaland, among others. During the rest of the decade, he had recurring roles on The Tracy Morgan Show and Bones, while he also recorded Vibes, a convincing and enjoyable album of reggae-pop. On November 8, 2011 — several weeks after releasing a rap EP, Love Opus, and less than a month after performing at the BET Hip Hop Awards — Heavy D collapsed outside his home in Beverly Hills and passed away. He was 44 years old.