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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.
“I’d like to claim this Grammy on behalf of the whole hip-hop nation, West Coast, East Coast, and worldwide, united we stand, divided we fall,” he said from the stage as he accepted the award.
Coolio moved 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 when Tommy Boy Records released his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” in 1994. The album’s lead single, “Fantastic Voyage,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
With its ominous opening words, “Gangsta’s Paradise” would go to No. 1 a year later.
“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s not much left, ’cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long, that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.”
In response to the sudden death, social media erupted.
“This is sad news,” Ice Cube said on Twitter. “I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace, @Coolio.”
“Weird Al” Yankovic tweeted “RIP Coolio” along with a picture of the two men hugging.
Although Yankovic’s 1996 “Gangsta’s Paradise” parody, “Amish Paradise,” offended Coolio at the time it was released, the two later reconciled.
The rapper never again had a hit song as popular as “Gangsta’s Paradise,” but he did have success with “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” in 1996 and “C U When U Get There” in 1997.
According to Luminate, his lifetime album sales came to 4.8 million, while his tracks have had 978 million on-demand streaming. He would receive a total of six Grammy nominations.
A 1998 conviction in Stuttgart, Germany, when a boutique shop owner claimed he struck her when she tried to stop him from taking goods without paying, was one of his sporadic legal difficulties. He received a probationary period of six months and a fine of $30,000.
From 1996 to 2000, he was married to Josefa Salinas. Together, they had four children.
