Famous ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio has passed away at the age of 59
Coolio’s friend and manager Jarez Posey confirmed the news that the 1990s rapper, known for songs like “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” had passed away. He was 59.
Wednesday afternoon, Los Angeles time, was when Coolio died, according to Posey.
Information on the specifics of the situation was not immediately accessible.
A biography on Coolio’s website states that he was born in Los Angeles and spent his formative years in Compton, California.
In 1994, he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times in which he discussed how he got out of the drug world by becoming a firefighter.
“I wasn’t looking for a career, I was looking for a way to clean up – a way to escape the drug thing,” he told the publication. “It was going to kill me and I knew I had to stop. In firefighting training was discipline I needed. We ran every day. I wasn’t drinking or smoking or doing the stuff I usually did.”
In the ’80s, he started his career in rap and became a big deal in the underground.
The song “Fantastic Voyage” was his first breakthrough single.
His popularity skyrocketed after the release of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” included on the movie soundtrack “Dangerous Minds.” In 1996, he received a Grammy Award for the song.
It has survived the advent of streaming services. The song got a billion views on YouTube in July of 2022.
“It’s one of those kinds of songs that transcends generations,” he stated in a recent interview.
Coolio’s official website claims that he has sold over 17 million records worldwide.
Some Millennials have a soft spot for Coolio because of his work on the theme song for the hit Nickelodeon show “Kenan and Kel” and because of his contribution to the album “Dexter’s Laboratory: The Hip-Hop Experiment,” which featured songs by various hip-hop artists inspired by the Cartoon Network animated series.
With his recent performances on “Celebrity Cook Off” and “Celebrity Chopped,” Coolio has reaped the benefits of his status as a nostalgic figure.
In 2008, he had a show called “Coolio’s Rules” on Oxygen.