Heavy D Signs Off, RIP: 1967-2011

They say bad news comes in threes, though the whole Penn State-Jerry Sandusky saga may count for nine by itself. Sadly, one day after joining the rest of us in mourning Joe Frazier, Dwight Arrington Myers aka Heavy D died Wednesday morning at age 44. Reports say his death may have been caused by complications related to pneumonia. Far too young for one of rap’s pioneering big men.

Heavy D & the Boyz were one of the formative groups of my youth, back when the hip-hop on the radio still aspired to some sort of message beyond taking listing the artist’s latest acquisitions. He will be missed, but perhaps fans may take some comfort from his last tweet: