Heavy D set the mic aside for acting, but now the veteran emcee is returning to the game and has signed with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy label.
In a ground breaking deal, the Mount Vernon bred rapper/actor will receive 100 percent of the profits from his Bad Boy release, after the label recoups costs for producing the yet-to-be titled album, his first since 1999’s Heavy.
“Puff and I been friends forever, were family,” Heavy D. told AllHipHop.com. “He gave me the most incredible deal. We had talks about it over the years. Honestly, I have never heard of a deal like this.”
Heavy said that he felt the timing in the rap industry was right for him to come back out. “The kind of music that I’m doing is gonna fit. I’m in a space where I’m doing Hip-Hop, but it’s sexy.”
“The Birthday Song” is already picking up steam after being leaked to various radio stations across the United States.
The album is still in production and Heavy has enlisted the production talents of Puff, Warren Campbell, Mike City and Tony Dofat.
Meanwhile, Heavy will continue to hone his acting skills and shed 160 pounds in order to increase the diversity of roles he can play.
“It was time on the acting side,” Heavy said. “I can’t limit myself to one kind of role if I want to be taken serious in other genres of acting.”
And how did he manage to lose such a staggering amount of weight?
“I did it the old fashioned way, working out twice a week, boxing, doing cardio, monitoring what I eat. I wasn’t on a crash diet and I did it right.”
And acting is something that Heavy, who has a recurring role on “The Tracy Morgan Show,” said he would continue to pursue in addition to his first career as a rapper.
“Puff and I are talking about doing a sitcom together. There’s a couple of scripts that Dame Dash is interested in casting me in. I also have a cameo appearance in Will Smith’s new movie, ‘The Last First Kiss’ so things are good.”
The untitled album is tentatively scheduled for a Fall release date.
