In Memory of Heavy D

 By now I'm sure you've heard the shocking and tragic news about the man who called himself the Overweight Lover. Best known as one of the most influential rappers of the early 90s, Heavy D was one of the rappers to embrace the party rap style by not making music laced with profanity, sex, or drug use. He just rapped about everyday life.
 As a kid, I appreciated his music because it was one of the few times I could listen to rap and understand clearly what was being said without asking my parents. My personal favorite song was, "We Got Our Own Thing" but his biggest hit was a rap remake of "Now That We Found Love" featuring Aaron Hall. He also contributed the theme song for most seasons of the now classic "In Living Color."
 His rap career cooled in the mid 90s with the official takeover of gangsta rap, but he forayed into acting quite successfully. In addition to a guest stint on "Living Single" he also guest starred on shows like " A Different World", "Bones" and "Law & Order: SVU." He also appeared in films like "Step Up" and the recently released "Tower Heist."
 But the real mark of his impact was the major respect he received from rappers of all kinds in the past few hours. There were no negative words, just memories of laughter, love, and support. But it just goes to show that no matter how you live your life, all that matters is who you touched and how you impacted the world around you.