LOS ANGELES – Heavy D, the self-proclaimed “overweight lover” of hip-hop who became one of rap’s top hit-makers with wit, humor and a positive vibe, has died. He was 44.

Lt. Mark Rosen of the Beverly Hills police said Heavy D died in a hospital Tuesday morning after collapsing outside his home.

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Rapper Heavy D, born Dwight Arrington Myers, performs at the BET Hip Hop Awards last month. Police believe a medical ailment caused his death at 44. The Associated Press

Shakira The Associated Press

Michael Lohan

Rosen said police officers were dispatched to Heavy D’s condominium building after receiving a report of an unconscious person laying on the walkway of a building. They found Heavy D was conscious and communicative but had difficulty breathing. He was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died.

Rosen said Beverly Hills detectives found no signs of foul play and believe his death is medically related. He said Heavy D “was returning home from shopping. He experienced difficulty breathing while walking into his condominium building. He was being assisted up to his apartment by building personnel when he collapsed in an exterior hallway.”

The last tweet from Heavy D, who frequently filled his timeline with positivity, was posted Tuesday morning and read, “BE INSPIRED!”

Dwight Arrington Myers, the rapper known as Heavy D of Heavy D and the Boyz, and his crew released their debut album “Living Large” in 1987. Their hits included “Now That We Found Love,” “Who’s the Man” and “Somebody For Me.”

The New York-born rapper was one of the genre’s most integral stars in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as it relied on new voices and star power to fuel its phenomenal growth in the mainstream.

The deep-voiced rapper’s earliest hit, “The Overweight Lover’s in the House,” played up his hefty frame. But while that nickname would stick, his weight did not become part of his shtick, like the Fat Boys. What drew people to his music was his singular style, which celebrated an easygoing, party vibe — sometimes humorous, sometimes inspiring and almost always positive.

“Most know Heavy D as a rap icon,” said actor-comedian Tommy Davidson. “I considered him a brother who made an indelible mark on me as a performer and a human being. I miss him already.”

Walk of Fame star thrills Latin singer

LOS ANGELES – Grammy-winning Colombian singer Shakira now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

During a Tuesday ceremony surrounded by hundreds of screaming, flag-waving fans, Shakira unveiled her sidewalk star in front of the W Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. It’s the 2,454th star along Hollywood’s avenue of dreams.

“This is incredible,” the singer said. “I would like to thank all of you.”

Shakira said she remembered being on the boulevard as a tourist when she was 7, accompanied by her mother, who told her, “Shaki, one day you’ll have your own star here.”

“If someone had heard that conversation, they would have thought she was insane,” said Shakira, who was flanked by her parents at the ceremony.

The ceremony came on the eve of Shakira’s Las Vegas honor as the Latin Grammy person of the year.

Lohan’s dad barred from contacting ex-girlfriend

SARASOTA, Fla. – A judge in Florida has ordered Lindsay Lohan’s estranged father to permanently stay away from his on-again, off-again girlfriend.

The Herald-Tribune newspaper in Sarasota reported that during a court hearing Tuesday, Michael Lohan and Kate Major agreed to a permanent injunction to keep Lohan at least 500 feet away from her and unable to make contact with her.

Lohan will face another court hearing in Hillsborough County today related to his arrest on Oct. 25. A judge warned him not to make any contact with Major, but two days later he was accused of violating the terms of his release by making a harassing phone call to her.

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