Three years ago, the Jamaican-born hip-hop superstar Heavy D fulfilled a long-time wish and dropped his first reggae album. When he was first introducing this new musical direction to the world, he stopped by the Manhattan offices of my former employer to drop words of wisdom about his life and his work. Listening to him now, in the wake of his sudden death, Hev’s words take on new meaning.
His final post on Twitter, just hours before his still-unexplained death, was an all-caps “BE INSPIRED!” Heavy certainly followed his own advice. He had just released a new album, Love Opus, in September—a follow-up of sorts to his Grammy-nominated reggae album Vibes, the first full-length release to feature him singing throughout.
Hev also performed a medley of his hits live on the latest BET Hip-Hop Awards, looking and sounding as sharp as ever. Since the shocking news of his passing, DJ Premier revealed that he and Heavy had been working on a new hip-hop project, Blue Funk 2. Perhaps we'll get to hear some unreleased jewels one day.
Many of Heavy’s fans and friends have been in a bit of a blue funk since we heard about his untimely death. But hearing him speak about following one’s passion and honoring one’s creative spirit, it’s clear that Dwight Myers lived his life doing exactly that. How many of us can same the same? BE INSPIRED. Nuff said.
As told to Rob Kenner (@boomshots)
