Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Rapper Heavy D collapsed in his Beverly Hills home Tuesday morning and died a short time later at a Los Angeles hospital , according to police and the coroner . He was 44 . Heavy D , whose real name is Dwight Arrington Myers , was found conscious with difficulty breathing at his home after police were called there at 11:25 a.m. , the Beverly Hills police said in a news release . He was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon , according to Los Angeles County coroner 's operations chief Craig Harvey . The cause of death has not been determined , Harvey said . His hip-hop recording career began in 1987 with his group Heavy D & the Boyz and on his first album he released the hit single `` The Overweight Lover 's in the House . '' Another one of his breakthrough hits came in 1991 with a remake of the O'Jays ' `` Now That We Found Love . '' Heavy D 's rapping was featured on Janet Jackson 's 1990 hit `` Alright . '' He rapped on Michael Jackson 's 1991 hit `` Jam , '' which he performed at last month 's Michael Jackson tribute show in Cardiff , Wales . He also composed and performed the theme songs several television shows , including `` In Living Color , '' `` MADtv '' and `` The Tracy Morgan Show . '' His last CD , `` Love Opus , '' was released this year . Heavy D also pursued an acting career , which included mostly roles on TV shows and movies . He played a courthouse guard in the Eddie Murphy film `` Tower Heist , '' released last weekend . iReporter : `` Rest in peace to Heavy D '' He used his Twitter account Monday night to express sadness about the death of boxer Joe Frazier : . `` SMOKIN JOE FRAZIER..RIP.. truly one of the best heavyweight champs that ever lived.. GODS SPEED , MR FRAZIER ! '' Heavy D 's last Twitter message , posted late Monday , was : `` BE INSPIRED ! '' CNN 's Jack Hannah contributed to this report .
Heavy D died in the ER at Cedars-Sinai , the coroner 's office says . Beverly Hills police were called to his home at 11:25 a.m. Tuesday , police say . He performed last month at the Michael Jackson tribute in Wales . The rapper 's real name was Dwight Arrington Myers .