Heavy D, the US recording artist who became of the rap's biggest stars in the 1980's, died on Tuesday (8th November 2011) after being found unconscious at his Los Angeles home. Although the cause of death is yet to be determined, sources close to the star claim he died of a heart attack, according to Tmz.com.
According to law enforcement, the rapper had returned from a shopping trip and walked up the stairs to his building before having trouble breathing. Designer Adam Mills said he found the rapper leaning against a railing in distress. Mills explained how he cradled Heavy D in his lap as somebody else called 911, he was reportedly saying "I can't breathe, I can't breathe". The self-proclaimed "overweight lover" of hip hop, 44-year-old Heavy D found fame with his band The Boyz and scored hits such 'Now That We Found Love' in 1991 - he later appeared in Michael Jackson's song 'Jam' and recently performed at the late singer's tribute concert in Cardiff. The singer soon began focusing on his acting career, and appeared in numerous television shows as well as the off-Broadway play Riff Raff. In recent years, he appeared in Law & Order: Svu and Boston Public and stars alongside Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in Brett Ratner's latest movie Tower Heist.
Rapper Ice T led the tributes to the late star, tweeting, "Stop for a second, take a breath and realize how lucky you are to be alive", adding, "We had a lot of great times touring together. He had a heart of gold".