It's a tragedy for the rap world, especially those who came up during the 1990s: Heavy D died suddenly on Tuesday, completing a bizarre trifecta of celebrity deaths this week.

Named Dwight Arrington Myers on his birth certificate, Heavy D was one of the biggest names in rap during the 90s, doing the theme for In Living Color and making things easier for fat dudes with songs like "The Overweight Lover's in the House," from Heavy D and the Boyz' 1987 debut  album, Living Large.

According to TMZ, a 911 call went out from the 44-year-old Arrington's Beverly Hills home at about 11:30 a.m., Pacific Time, on Tuesday. "When help arrived, we're told Heavy D was conscious and speaking -- and was transported to a nearby hospital." He died around 1 p.m. So far, no word on what killed him.

In addition to being a tragedy and a loss for the entertainment industry, Heavy D's passing puts the final link in one of the more surreal three-way groupings of celebrity deaths to come around in a while, coming on the heels of Andy Rooney and Joe Frazier. The hard-charging boxing legend who once worked in a slaughterhouse, the 92-year-old curmudgeon who was one of the nation's most famous atheists, and the young-ish rap star had very little to do with one another in life -- but thanks to sheer chance they'll be immortalized together in the blogs.

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Adam Martin