Rapper Heavy D Dead at 44

Rapper Heavy D, one of the biggest rap stars of the late 1980s and early '90s, is dead at age 44, reports TMZ. A friend says he had pneumonia, and the rapper apparently began having trouble breathing on the stairs leading to his Beverly Hills apartment building. Born Dwight Arrington Myers, Heavy D and his group released their first album, Living Large, in 1987, notes AP. One of his breakout hits was The Overweight Lover's in the House. Time has more on his role in the "Jack Swing" style of R&B. (Click to read 10 facts you might not know about Heavy D.)