Some people are so special that they just seem to be the glue to certain things. They just have that special type of energy that is welcoming and the people surrounding them can feel that and it makes it so simple to gravitate to them type of people easily. That is exactly the type of strength and vitality that Troy "Trouble T-Roy" Dixon brought to whomever he was around. Troy was a hip hop dancer with the group "Heavy D and the Boyz" from 1987 until his untimely death in 1990. The late Dwight Arrington Myers better known to the hip hop community as professional rapper Heavy D was the leader of the group which also included dancer and hype man Glen "G-Whiz' Parrish and DJ and producer Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell. Eddie F was Heavy D's business partner and they released five albums during they career. Heavy D was born in Jamaica in 1967 but his family moved to Mount Vernon, New York in 1970 which is where Trouble T-Roy was born 1967 as well. Heavy D and the Boyz was the first group signed to "Uptown Records" which was based in New York city and founded in 1980 by the late Andre Harrell who at one time was a rapper himself. It also included other successful artist such as Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Guy, Father MC, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige and Soul for Real. The label was aided by its A&R worker, Sean Combs at the time. When the group came together it was instant success.
Their debut album "Living Large" released October 27, 1987, was a commercial success and along with producers Andre Harrell and Eddie F included other big named producers Teddy Riley, Marley Marl and Pete Rock who was one half of the critically acclaimed group "Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Pete Rock is also Heavy D's cousin. The album sold over 300.000 copies and reached number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. It included huge hit singles, "Mr. Big Stuff", "Chunky But funky" and the smooth and romantic classic, "Don't You Know". This album is still a hip hop classic and had that new jack swing twist to it. That was one of the things that made it special and memorable.
On June 12, 1989, Heavy D and the Boyz released they second album "Big Tyme" on Uptown records. It made it to #19 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. This album produced by Eddie F, Teddy Riley, Marley Marl and Pete Rock was very successful and they gave the hip hop world three more hit singles, "We Got Our Own Thang", "Somebody for Me" and "Gyrlz, They Love Me". It was officially certified Platinum and sold over a million copies. No need to say it was considerably more successful than they first album. By now they were making a major name for themselves, and they were definitely going places within they career. They also won a Soul Train Award and a NAACP Image award for the album. Sadly, this would be the final album to feature bandmate Trouble T-Roy.
On July 14, 1990 while the group was on tour in Indianapolis with the groups Public Enemy and Kid N Play, Troy "Trouble T-Roy" Dixon and others were horseplaying after a performance and walking on a raised exit ramp outside the Market Square Arena which was an indoor arena mainly used for basketball and ice hockey. During the commotion, someone pushed a trash barrel down the ramp. Dixon jump on a nearby ledge to avoid the barrel but unfortunately lost his balance and fell from a height of approximately two stories. He was rushed to the hospital but died the next day from the injuries he had suffered, He was only 22 years old. His death was ruled an accident.
The group paid homage to their childhood friend on the group’s third album "Peaceful Journey" that was released on July 2, 1991, but Pete Rock & CL Smooth immortalized him with their 1992 tribute record, “They Reminisce Over You: T.R.O.Y”. Although the now-classic song serves as a staple in most R.I.P. playlists, it was crafted as a musical tribute to Trouble T-Roy, whose name was the inspiration for the record’s acronym-based title. There was a lot of people touched by his untimely death. Eddie F said years after his death during an interview with XXL, "I think the group really lost something when Troy passed.....I was right there when he fell. I was one of the people to actually see him fall. There was a lot of misconceptions 'cause a lot of time people say, "Oh yeah he fell off of a stage" but you know how coliseums or convention centers have like the exit ramps that actually go around the arena and eventually go down to the ground level? Well, there was just one of those ramps and it was elevated in the arena", he added. CL Smooth was also quoted as saying, " What I wanted to capture on the tribute song "T.R.O.Y'" was my vulnerbility.....I was back in Mount Vernon when he fell. I really don't remember how I felt when I heard the news. I just remember going and seeing them. I don't know how I got the strength because usually I lose it when dealing with death". G-Whiz added, "It's never ever a year that goes by where I forget Troy. Troy was my savior, he was my best friend, like my brother. Like where there was one, there was the other. If you saw me and didn't see him, the first question people asked is, "Where 's Troy?" and vice versa."
He had one child, a daughter named Tantania Dixon. She said, "Heavy D & the Boyz treat me like they own. I was actually 9-months old when my father passed away. I really don't have any mutual feelings of my father, but I've learned so much about him through the people in my family and watching videos of him and the actual recordings they have of him when he was in the group, so that taught me a lot about him".
The group went on to release two more albums. In 1993 they released "Blue Funk" followed by "Nuttin But Love" in 1994. Heavy D died after a very successful solo career from a Pulmonary Embolism also known as PE caused by a blood clot in one of his legs on December 27, 2011. Like I said, Troy was the glue and he brought so many people together. The other members are still living and working within the music industry.
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