Heavy D’s mother Eulahlee Myers speaks on the Awards Ceremony on the Resorts World On line casino, Queens.
Photograph by Andrew O. Grant
Greater than a decade after his loss of life, Jamaican-born hip hop legend Dwight Myers, also called Heavy D, was posthumously honored by the Irie Jam Basis in New York with the Goal Speak Legacy Honor Award.
The occasion happened just lately on the Resorts World On line casino in Queens. Heavy D’s dad and mom, Eulahlee and Clifford Myers, accepted the award on his behalf.
Syntyche “Syn” Clarke, co-chair of the Irie Jam Basis, informed Caribbean Life on Tuesday, Aug. 12, that “the honour acknowledged Heavy D — born Dwight Arrington Myers — as a cultural trailblazer whose imaginative and prescient and vitality transcended borders.”
Eulahlee Myers, who migrated from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, to New York in 1968, mentioned, “This one means rather a lot as a result of it’s our Jamaican heritage.
“He did what made him completely happy,” she added. “That, to me, was his best accomplishment.”
Raised most of his life in Mount Vernon, in New York Metropolis’s suburb, “Heavy D blended hip hop and reggae to create timeless hits like ‘Now That We Discovered Love’, incomes 4 GRAMMY nominations and a Soul Prepare Award,” in keeping with New York-based, Jamaican leisure publicist Anthony “ER Guru Turner.
He mentioned Heavy D collaborated with icons comparable to Michael and Janet Jackson, and appeared in TV exhibits and movies.
Eulahlee Myers mentioned her son’s closing efficiency was in October 2011, simply weeks earlier than his sudden loss of life in California from pulmonary embolism at 43.
Remembered for his kindness and generosity, tributes poured in from music friends praising his expertise and spirit.
“Heavy D was one of many nicest, coolest rappers I’ve ever met,” mentioned radio host Dahved “Rocking You” Levy. I revered and admired him for his down-to-earth persona, authenticity, and integrity.
“These traits have been the essence of his persona and character,” he added. “I admired his love for nation and his alignment all the time together with his roots, significantly the reggae and dancehall tradition.
“Even on the peak of his Hip-hop/R&B profession and amidst all his successes, he by no means uncared for his Jamaican roots,” Levy continued. “He sought out lots of his Jamaican cohorts to collaborate with and, in so doing, solidified his presence throughout the totally different genres.”
Patricia “Pat” Chin, co-founder of the Jamaica, Queens-based VP Information, mentioned Heavy D’s “contribution as a Jamaican in music and movie gave everybody of Caribbean descent hope.”
