Heavy D earned both respect and popularity in the music world with equal parts accessibility and integrity and proved a highly watchable onscreen presence, slowly segueing to an acting career beginning with cameos on TV series and going on to featured roles in major motion pictures. With a large frame to match his chosen stage moniker and light-on-his feet dancing skills that belied it, the Jamaican-born rapper-actor signed with Uptown Records in 1986, leading the rap group Heavy D and the Boyz. One of the more successful crossover artists in hip-hop's early years, Heavy D's funk-infused sound