The Hollywood Interview is sad to report the untimely death of rapper/actor Heavy D at age 44. I interviewed Heavy D for Venice Magazine, back in June of 2005, as he was making his theatrical debut in Hollywood, in the play "Medal of Honor Rag." He was a soft-spoken, thoughtful man whose imposing physical presence couldn't hide what seemed like an inherently gentle nature. Of the hundreds of hours of interviews I've logged over the years, ours was one of the most memorable. He will be missed. Rest in peace.
HEAVY D CHANGES HIS TUNE IN
MEDAL OF HONOR RAG
By
Alex Simon
It’s fair to say that Heavy D was one of the first rap/hip-hop artists whose work crossed over into the “mainstream,” earning him points with urban fans as well as those in the suburbs. While many people were left with a bad taste from what they perceived as extreme mysoginy and hate-filled rants from certain latter-day rappers, Heavy D and his backup band The Boyz, always remained gentlemen, taking cues from old school R & B love balladeers like Barry White and Isaac Hayes, as well as mixing their own unique fusion of street poetry and Reggae-influenced beats and melodies. In addition, Heavy never let his 250 lbs-plus girth get in the way of his natural charm and sex appeal for the ladies. This, along with a healthy sense of humor and playfulness made Heavy D and The Boyz stand out from the crowd. Yes, they had an edge, and you could groove to their tracks with the best of them, but they were also the guys whose music you could play for your mom, without having to blush.
Heavy D was born Dwight Errington Myers in Jamaica on May 24, 1967 and moved with his family to Mt. Vernon, NY, as a young child. He discovered rap music at age eight and by junior high was making his own demo tapes. He later formed the Boyz with high-school friends DJ Eddie F (born Eddie Ferrell), Trouble T-Roy (born Troy Dixon), and G-Wiz (born Glen Parrish). Their demo tape found its way to Def Jam executive Andre Harrell who was in the process of forming his own label, Uptown. Harrell made Heavy D & the Boyz the first artists signed to Uptown in 1986, and they released their debut album, Living Large, in 1987. The follow-up album, 1989's Big Tyme, was the group's real breakthrough. Big Tyme went all the way to number one on the R&B album charts and made the Top 20 on the pop side; it was also certified platinum. Tragedy struck on the supporting tour however when Trouble T-Roy was killed in an accident on July 15, 1990.
During this time, Heavy was also establshing himself as an actor, having made his television debut on the "Cosby Show" spin-off "A Different World," and soon appearing in a recurring role on the hit series Roc. Heavy made his big screen debut in Nick Gomez’s urban thriller New Jersey Drive in 1995, followed by impressive turns in Ted Demme’s Life and Lasse Hallstrom’s hit The Cider House Rules (both 1999). Cider House also co-starred Delroy Lindo. The two men formed a bond during the shoot, and vowed to work together again. And so they did…
Heavy D should now probably change his moniker to “Good-Sized D,” or “Lean and Mean D (L & MD, anyone?),” after shedding 135 pounds. Along with this new image, Heavy is establishing himself as a gifted stage actor, with his powerful turn in Tom Cole’s Medal of Honor Rag. Directed by Delroy Lindo (who makes his directing debut), the play is set in 1971, during the waning days of the Vietnam war. D.J. Jackson, Vietnam veteran and winner of The Congressional Medal of Honor, has been sent to the Veteran’s Hospital in New York, where he tries to exorcise his demons with the help of a sympathetic psychiatrist (Paul Schackman, also fine). What follows is a spellbinding battle of psyches as the two men mentally and and verbally spar with one other. Medal of Honor Rag runs at The Egyptian Arena Theater through July 17.
Heavy D sat down with Venice recently at the Egyptian Arena Theater, just a few hours before he took the stage, to discuss his latest artistic venture.
Tell us how the show came to you originally.
Heavy D: I did a play with Laurence Fishburne about ten years ago called Riff-Raff, which he wrote and directed. When I finished doing that, I really had the bug to do it again, and Fish said “You should do a play called Medal of Honor Rag.” It took me ten years to get to it because I just didn’t have the chops to do it (until now). It’s a huge undertaking emotionally, and I was able to gain a lot more experience by acting as much as I could here and there, and constantly stealing things from good actors that I would see or work with! (laughs) All of that people watching goes into this little library that I hopefully have now. The reason I chose someone like Delroy to direct it is that whatever I don’t have in terms of technique, I knew I could get a good portion of that through Delroy, which is exactly what’s happening. I’m in a really good place right now.
Heavy D & the Boyz.
Who’re some of the other actors you mentioned that you “steal” from, and admire?
Gene Hackman. Walter Matthau. Geoffrey Wright. Wood Harris. Wood and Geoff I put up on a pedestal. Wood is actually coming to the show tonight. He’s a brilliant actor, and just a well-rounded artist. He plays guitar, he’s a beautiful person to be around. Then there’s Denzel, of course, and Delroy. Laurence Fishburne. Johnny Depp.
One thing that Delroy and I discussed when I interviewed him was that, prior to our going to Iraq for the second time, this play might have felt dated (it was written in 1976). Now, in today’s climate, it feels very contemporary.
What about the Gulf War?
That was a blip on the radar compared to what’s going on now, don’t you think?
Yeah, on the surface it’s easy to say something like that. But it’s always relevant, what these (soldiers) go through. This isn’t about Iraq, obviously, it’s about Vietnam. D.J. represents millions of people who’ve served our country. It’s not filled with slang or music that would make it seem dated. I think it’s just a powerful piece.
Heavy D in Medal of Honor Rag.
I didn’t mean dated in that sense. I just meant that it would have definitley felt like a period piece had I seen it prior to the Iraq war. Remember, during Vietnam there were lots of very powerful anti-Vietnam movies and plays that were set in WW II and Korea, because people were afraid to dissent too openly in some cases.
Yeah, yeah, you may be right. I know Delroy felt that way, until we went to Iraq, but to me, good is good. One of the things I’ve taken away from this play is that we prepare people to go to war. That’s all part of the process. But no one prepares them to go home from it, and that’s what these guys are going through now.
Ah, but we used to. We used to during WW I and WW II. Why is it that we’ve moved backwards since then?
You know what it was: people were fighting a reason.
Yeah, that and there were no socio-economic boundries in terms of who fought those wars. We haven’t had a war that’s been fought by middle, upper middle class and the wealthy since WW II.
Right, right. They’re looking for a way out, and then they get trapped in that war. But man, imagine being drafted today? I don’t think that would go over too well. I think there would be a huge uprising.
I don’t think it would ever pass The House, although they might get it as far as a vote. Recruitment is at an all-time low right now.
I think we’d have a bigger uprising than what we had in the 60s, because people are more savvy right now. Nobody wants to send their kids to war, especially after what they saw happen in Vietnam. If you call somebody a “draft dodger” I don’t think it’ll have the same connotation it once had. Now it’s like “Hey, I’m saving my kid’s life.” Especially with African-Americans.
They’ll be like “Hell no, I’m not sending my kid over there!” And from what I gague, the majority of the country is becoming opposed to the war. It’s like “What are we fighting for, again? I thought we were going after somebody else.” This is more about power and control than anything else.
That and economics.
Right. It’s much more about that than it is about what’s right for the country.
Tell us how the show came to you originally.
Heavy D: I did a play with Laurence Fishburne about ten years ago called Riff-Raff, which he wrote and directed. When I finished doing that, I really had the bug to do it again, and Fish said “You should do a play called Medal of Honor Rag.” It took me ten years to get to it because I just didn’t have the chops to do it (until now). It’s a huge undertaking emotionally, and I was able to gain a lot more experience by acting as much as I could here and there, and constantly stealing things from good actors that I would see or work with! (laughs) All of that people watching goes into this little library that I hopefully have now. The reason I chose someone like Delroy to direct it is that whatever I don’t have in terms of technique, I knew I could get a good portion of that through Delroy, which is exactly what’s happening. I’m in a really good place right now.
Heavy D & the Boyz.Who’re some of the other actors you mentioned that you “steal” from, and admire?
Gene Hackman. Walter Matthau. Geoffrey Wright. Wood Harris. Wood and Geoff I put up on a pedestal. Wood is actually coming to the show tonight. He’s a brilliant actor, and just a well-rounded artist. He plays guitar, he’s a beautiful person to be around. Then there’s Denzel, of course, and Delroy. Laurence Fishburne. Johnny Depp.
One thing that Delroy and I discussed when I interviewed him was that, prior to our going to Iraq for the second time, this play might have felt dated (it was written in 1976). Now, in today’s climate, it feels very contemporary.
What about the Gulf War?
That was a blip on the radar compared to what’s going on now, don’t you think?
Yeah, on the surface it’s easy to say something like that. But it’s always relevant, what these (soldiers) go through. This isn’t about Iraq, obviously, it’s about Vietnam. D.J. represents millions of people who’ve served our country. It’s not filled with slang or music that would make it seem dated. I think it’s just a powerful piece.
Heavy D in Medal of Honor Rag.I didn’t mean dated in that sense. I just meant that it would have definitley felt like a period piece had I seen it prior to the Iraq war. Remember, during Vietnam there were lots of very powerful anti-Vietnam movies and plays that were set in WW II and Korea, because people were afraid to dissent too openly in some cases.
Yeah, yeah, you may be right. I know Delroy felt that way, until we went to Iraq, but to me, good is good. One of the things I’ve taken away from this play is that we prepare people to go to war. That’s all part of the process. But no one prepares them to go home from it, and that’s what these guys are going through now.
Ah, but we used to. We used to during WW I and WW II. Why is it that we’ve moved backwards since then?
You know what it was: people were fighting a reason.
Yeah, that and there were no socio-economic boundries in terms of who fought those wars. We haven’t had a war that’s been fought by middle, upper middle class and the wealthy since WW II.
Right, right. They’re looking for a way out, and then they get trapped in that war. But man, imagine being drafted today? I don’t think that would go over too well. I think there would be a huge uprising.
I don’t think it would ever pass The House, although they might get it as far as a vote. Recruitment is at an all-time low right now.
I think we’d have a bigger uprising than what we had in the 60s, because people are more savvy right now. Nobody wants to send their kids to war, especially after what they saw happen in Vietnam. If you call somebody a “draft dodger” I don’t think it’ll have the same connotation it once had. Now it’s like “Hey, I’m saving my kid’s life.” Especially with African-Americans.
They’ll be like “Hell no, I’m not sending my kid over there!” And from what I gague, the majority of the country is becoming opposed to the war. It’s like “What are we fighting for, again? I thought we were going after somebody else.” This is more about power and control than anything else.
That and economics.
Right. It’s much more about that than it is about what’s right for the country.
Tell us about some of the responses you’ve gotten from veterans who’ve seen the play.
Those have been the most gratifying compliments we’ve gotten. Danny, who runs the house here, is a Vietnam vet, and he’s been thouroughly moved. A guy named Wayne Patton, who’s been one of our advisors for the show, has been thoroughly moved. You hear these stories and see the distance in these guys’ eyes when they go back to that place, and it’s almost surreal. We’re all human, so we all adapt to our surroundings, but at a point, it’s almost impossible to comprehend what these guys went through.
How did you come to acting originally?
After I appeared on that episode of "A Different World" as myself, I just fell in love with the whole process.
How is being on stage different than working in front of a camera?
Well, the main difference is you have to be sharp and be able to transition seamlessly from one moment to another. That’s been a real challenge for me, but one that I’ve really enjoyed. Every day I’m discovering new things about my character: mannerisms, things like that. So the main difference is, you just have to be able to turn on a dime when you’re on stage, whereas on film, you can take a moment to prepare for each transition.
Do you like to be directed?
Yeah, very much, especially at the stage of the game that I’m in now. I imagine that you want to wish to only work with good directors if you choose to be the actor who’s going to listen. In film, it’s a director’s medium. On stage, it’s an actor’s medium. On TV, it’s a writer and producer’s medium. So you’ve just got to know your place and what you’re doing.
How is it different working with someone like Delroy, who’s an actor/director, as opposed to someone like Lasse Hallstrom, who’s purely a filmmaker?
Since Delroy’s a first time director, there’s always that fine line between “Am I telling him how to act, or am I giving him direction?” which was something we all had to figure out at the beginning. You’re talking about a guy who’s coming from an extensive theater background. So he has that muscle developed. He knows his craft. He has that discipline. Whatever I don’t know, he knows. So it’s been great.
One thing I love about the play is its simplicity: just two people talking. I think we’ve forgotten about the beauty of simplicity in this age of spectacle. Broadway’s even become all about spectacle.
Yeah, bells and whistles. Characters. Who are these people? And it’s hard to answer those questions in the midst of bells and whistles. And I think we’re doing a good job of that.
R.I.P.
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