Funeral for rap legend Heavy D scheduled

After his tragic, unexpected death earlier this week, the family of the 44-year-old hip-hop legend has announced their funeral plans. Heavy D will be laid to rest on Friday, November 18, in Mount Vernon, New York.

Rap star Heavy D, who died Tuesday, will be laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony on Friday in his hometown of Mount Vernon. The funeral will be attended by close family and friends, the artist's family revealed. A public viewing and wake will be held the day before at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, located in Westchester County. Reverend Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson will be on hand to deliver the eulogy during the service.

According to TMZ, the invite list will only be comprised of close family members and friends, including Sean (Diddy) Combs, Mary J. Blige and the Wayans brothers. Eddie F and G-Whiz, both former members of Heavy D and the Boyz, are also expected to be in attendance.

Heavy D, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles leaving his associates stunned. The rotund rapper had just returned to his Beverly Hills home from a trip to London. Autopsy results are to determine his cause of death, but it is said that Heavy D was suffering from pneumonia and died of it.

"He had gone to the doctor the day before," Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. "He had what appeared to be flu-like symptoms."

Also, the Jamaican-born rapper was overweight, weighing 344 pounds just before he died. Friends of Heavy D revealed that he was very conscious of his weight gain, and in recent months had been struggling to shed the pounds. Sources have said that three months before his untimely passing, Heavy D visited a Los Angeles gym called Ultra Body Fitness in West Hollywood to try their new fitness program.

Heavy D rose to fame in the 1990s as the frontman of Heavy D & the Boyz, a hip hop group that was so popular that Notorious B.I.G. referred to him in his hit song "Juicy". The group released several hits including "Now That We Found Love", "Who's the Man" and "Somebody for Me".

Heavy D also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the 1991 single "Jam" and the 1997 duet "Keep It Coming" with BB King. His latest album, Love Opus, was released in September.

Late in his career, Heavy D also appeared on TV, making guest appearances on "Boston Public", "Tyler Perry's House of Pain" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit".