LOS ANGELES – Trailblazing rapper Heavy D was a devoted dad with “a heart of gold” who dispensed bear hugs as easily as infectious rhymes, his grieving relatives said in their first statement Monday.

“Hev had great love for his family and friend. He was a kind and giving spirit who extended and shared himself with everyone who crossed his path,” the family members said one week after the musician’s sudden death last Tuesday.

They said his “most important triumph” was becoming a father, and that he often said he couldn’t bear the thought of life without his 13-year-old daughter Xea.

“Hev's love for his daughter Xea was profound – she was the center of his life, his heart, his soul,” they said. “She embodied every phenomenal attribute that he brought to this world.”

Heavy D, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, will be laid to rest later this week after a public viewing of his body at the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon Thursday. The viewing will start at noon and end at 6 p.m.

Rap mogul Sean (P. Diddy) Combs and the Rev. Al Sharpton will later speak at a private, invitation-only memorial service at the historic church on Friday.

“He was a wonderful human being, who inspired and paved the way for a Hip Hop generation,” Combs said in a statement.

Heavy D is survived by his parents, a brother, a sister and his daughter.

“He never compromised his values and artistry, and encouraged his peers to do the same,” his family members said in their statement. “To us, Hev was the one who made us laugh, cry, sing, dance and turn a frown upside down. As a family, we are devastated by Hev's passing, but through our faith in God and support from family, friends and fans – we are comforted, blessed and will remain strong.”

Heavy D was returning from a shopping trip last Tuesday morning when he experienced difficulty breathing and collapsed in an exterior hallway of his condo building, police said.

He was conscious and talking when first responders arrived but died about 90 minutes later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, police said.

A spokesman for the county coroner later revealed Heavy D sought medical attention shortly before his sudden death.

“He had gone to the doctor the day before not feeling good. He had what appeared to be like flu-like symptoms,” Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner told the Daily News.

Investigators completed an autopsy Wednesday morning but declined to give a preliminary cause of death pending toxicology tests that could take six weeks.

“He was taking medication, so we want to see what the levels were,” Winter said.

 

Heavy D was pl anning a huge comeback just before his death — and those plans included a new music video.

Carl Thomas, who sang on Heavy D's latest album, told TMZ, he was in touch with Heavy two weeks ago, and Heavy told him he was weeks away from shooting a music video for their song, "Still Missing You." Thomas said Heavy had a director in place and had picked a location for the shoot.

Sources close to Heavy D say it was all part of the singer's comeback plan. He released his new album on September 27 because it coincided with the BET Music Awards and he was hoping the performance would put him back on the map.

As we first reported, Heavy D passed away on Tuesday after collapsing outside his Beverly Hills home. He was 44. The cause is still unknown.