Heavy D passed away suddenly yesterday at the all too young age of 44.

Born Dwight Arrington Myers, he found success in the late 1980s as the leader of the group Heavy D and the Boyz, which included Eddie F (Edward Ferrel), G-Whiz (Glen Parrish) and Trouble T-Roy (Troy Dixon). His biggest hits included "Now That We Found Love," "Big Daddy," "Got Me Waiting" and more. He is survived by a daughter. For more, read the obituary published by the Los Angeles Times.

Heavy D and Diddy were very close. As the well told story goes, Heavy D befriended a young Sean Combs and brought him to Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell, which resulted in an internship with the company. Diddy quickly rose through the ranks and left Uptown after being fired by Harrell.

Heavy D joined Bad Boy for a brief period of time during the label's days under Universal, recording under the name Hev-D. He released at least two songs while with the label, featuring ad-libs from Diddy, including "Big Booty Girls" (vinyl) and "It's Your Birthday" (which may not have been released officially). No album would be released under the label.

The rapper also collaborated with Bad Boy artists on occasion. He appeared on Jerome's "No Disturb Sign," which also features Diddy. Furthermore, he produced songs for Total ("The Most Beautiful..." from "Kima, Keisha & Pam") and Carl Thomas ("Summer Rain" and "Hey Now" from "Emotional").

Diddy took to Twitter to pay tribute to his friend. "My heart is broken. Please pray for my man Heavy D and his family. Please R.I.P. Heavy D. Love you boy. Forever!," he wrote in one tweet.

"Heavy D is the person who gave me my first chance in the music industry," he continued. "He got me my internship at Uptown. He believed when no one else did."

Rest in peace, Heavy D.