How did coolio die: Rapper Coolio, whose 1990s successes included “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died on Wednesday at the age of 59, according to his manager.
Longtime manager Jarez Posey confirmed to The Associated Press that Coolio passed away at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. The reason wasn’t immediately obvious.
“Gangsta’s Paradise,” a 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer movie “Dangerous Minds,” which sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise,” earned Coolio a Grammy for best solo rap performance. The song was played nonstop on MTV.
In 1996, during a bitter conflict between the two coasts’ hip-hop scenes that would soon claim the lives of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., he won the Grammy and reached the height of his career.
Coolio generally avoided being caught up in the fighting.
He declared from the stage as he took the prize, “United we stand, divided we fall. I’d like to claim this Grammy on behalf of the entire hip-hop country, West Coast, East Coast, and global.
Coolio relocated to Compton, California after being born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is located south of Pittsburgh. When he was a teenager, his mother sent him to Northern California for a while because she thought the city was too unsafe.
In interviews, he stated that he began rapping at the age of 15, and by the time he was 18, he knew it was what he wanted to do with his life. However, he decided to attend community college, work as a volunteer firefighter, and work in airport security first, all before dedicating himself fully to the hip-hop scene.
His career took off with the release of his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” on Tommy Boy Records in 1994. Its first single, “Fantastic Voyage,” would peak at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
With its dark opening lyrics, “Gangsta’s Paradise” would become a No. 1 single a year later:
“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I look back on my life and realise there’s not much left, ’cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughing for so long, even my mama thinks my mind is gone.”
Coolio stated in an interview at the time that he was not pleased with Yankovic’s 1996 “Gangsta’s Paradise” parody, “Amish Paradise.” However, the two later reconciled.
The rapper would never have another song as big as “Gangsta’s Paradise,” but he did have subsequent hits with “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” (1996) and “C U When U Get There” (1997).
According to Luminate, his career album sales totaled 4.8 million, with 978 million on-demand streams of his songs. He’d be nominated for six Grammys in total.
And with his distinct persona, he would become a cultural staple, occasionally acting, starring in the parenting reality show “Coolio’s Rules,” providing a voice for an episode of the animated show “Gravity Falls,” and providing the theme music for the Nickelodeon sitcom “Kenan & Kel.”
He had a few run-ins with the law, including a 1998 conviction in Stuttgart, Germany, for punching a boutique shop owner when she tried to stop him from taking merchandise without paying. He received six months probation and a $30,000 fine.
From 1996 to 2000, he was married to Josefa Salinas. They shared four children.