Trouble T Roy

Troy Dixon (October 19, 1967 – July 15, 1990),^[2] better known as Trouble T Roy, was a hip-hop dancer with the group Heavy D and the Boyz from 1987 until 1990.

Death[]

On July 15, 1990, Dixon was killed by an accidental fall at the age of 22.^[1] On July 14, while on tour in Indianapolis, he and others were having fun after a performance and walking on a raised exit ramp outside the arena. During the commotion, someone pushed a trash barrel down the ramp. Troy got on the ledge to avoid the trash barrel, however he lost his balance and fell from a height of approximately two stories, and hit his head. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died the next day.^[1]

Legacy[]

Heavy D & the Boyz dedicated their next album, Peaceful Journey, to his memory in 1991.^[3]

Pete Rock & CL Smooth dedicated their song "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" to him in 1992.^[3] Pete Rock discussed the song's genesis in a 2007 interview with The Village Voice:

I had a friend of mine that passed away, and it was a shock to the community. I was kind of depressed when I made it. And to this day, I can't believe I made it through, the way I was feeling. I guess it was for my boy. When I found the record by Tom Scott, basically I just heard something incredible that touched me and made me cry. It had such a beautiful bassline, and I started with that first. I found some other sounds and then heard some sax in there and used that. Next thing you know, I have a beautiful beat made. When I mixed the song down, I had Charlie Brown from Leaders of the New School in the session with me, and we all just started crying."

References[]