Nas finds himself in an interesting position in 2012. The catalog’s there. His skill is unquestioned. Yet, there’s a large part of the Hip-Hop community waiting for Nasir to zone in and go on a run that’ll warrant the statement, “Nas is back.” With longtime collaborator Salaam Remi, Da Internz (Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake”) and even the late Heavy D all playing a part on the boards, “The Don” showcases not only a hungry Nas, but one so sonically comfortable that it has him firing off an amazing combination of witty darts to play a compliment to a rhyme scheme that seems as sharp as ever.

 This may not be the record to propel him to the apex of the Billboard charts, but it’s enough to get people listening and talking. And in these days, that alone can get a snowball rolling downhill. If Esco’s got this type of heat stashed away, we’re all better off for it.

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Heavy D died from a pulmonary embolism caused by deep leg vein thrombosis. A pulmonary embolism is a blockage of one or more arteries in the lungs, most often caused by blood clots which travel in from other parts of he body. Unfortunately Heavy’s clot was formed in his legs. Heavy D also suffered from heart disease which contributed to the death, classifying his death to be from natural causes.

Yesterday, the world said their last goodbye to one of Hip-Hop’s pioneers, Heavy D. As we all know, Heavy D passed away on November 8th, 2011. The funeral was held in Mt Vernon, New York at the Grace Baptist Church. Jay-Z, Denzel Washington, Diddy, Usher and many more are among the many artist, actors, actresses and athletes who attended the funeral. President Obama was not in attendance but he did send a letter showing his respects to the late Heavy D. The letter is below along with pictures from the funeral. Rest In Peace, Heavy D.

We extend our heartfelt condolences at this difficult time. He will be remembered for his infectious optimism and many contributions to American music. Please know that you and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers,

I can’t even imagine how great this would have been if it would have happened. We all are aware that last Tuesday, Hip-Hop lost yet another legend in the game in Heavy D and recently XXL sat down with Lil Cease to discuss Heavy D and Cease revealed some very interesting information.

“There was an immediate bond,” Lil Cease tells XXL. “Hev was instrumental in getting Puff his first job so they had that connection through Diddy. But Hev always saluted [Big] like, ‘Yo, you that next one. That next big man.’”

“Him and Big was doing the records, they was trying to do a whole project together,” Cease continued. “Eventually, they was trying to work on a project together.”

After Big took off, it was hard for them to set up the schedules,” Lil Cease said. “But, Big always had the idea in his head like, ‘Yo, you know what? Me and Hev doing something together.’ The relationship was there being around the whole Uptown situation. It was a unit, everybody was a family up there; Mary [J.] Blige, Jodeci, Christopher Williams — it was that bond. Him and Big was gonna try to put something together. That’s why they were doing all those records together [and trying to get] a vibe off each other.

Source

TMZ.com reports that rap legend Heavy D has passed a short time ago, at the age of 44. Heavy D, born Dwight Arrington Myers, was rushed to an LA area hospital and was pronounced dead at 1PM. A 911 call stated that an unconscious male was laying in the walkway. He was said to be coherent went paramedics arrived, but passed shortly after arriving at the hospital. No foul play is expected.

Heavy D was one of the performers on the 2011 BET Hip-Hop Awards, which air last month in October.

More info as the story develops…