{"id":335,"date":"2022-09-29T16:35:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/?p=335"},"modified":"2022-09-29T16:35:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:35:07","slug":"the-gangstas-paradise-rapper-coolio-has-passed-away-at-the-age-of-59","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/celebrities\/the-gangstas-paradise-rapper-coolio-has-passed-away-at-the-age-of-59\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Gangsta\u2019s Paradise\u2019 rapper, Coolio, has passed away at the age of 59"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"American
American rapper, Coolio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

American rapper, Coolio, known for the iconic hit Gangsta\u2019s Paradise, has died at the age of 59. Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., came up on the L.A. rap scene in the late 80s, but blew up nationally in 1995 when he released \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d for the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film, \u201cDangerous Minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song reached #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While \u2018Paradise\u2019 became his signature hit, Coolio had several others \u2026 including 1994\u2019s \u201cFantastic Voyage\u201d \u2014 which hit #3 on Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 \u2014 as well as \u201c1,2,3,4 (Sumpin\u2019 New)\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s All the Way Live (Now).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rapper\u2019s longtime manager Jarel Posey confirmed the news saying that Coolio died around 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday afternoon, September 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to TMZ, Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was found dead at a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coolio\u2019s longtime manager, Jarez, said Coolio went to the bathroom at his friend\u2019s house, but when he didn\u2019t come out after a while, the friend kept calling for him, and eventually went in and found Coolio laying on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law enforcement sources told the publication that paramedics were called to the house in Los Angeles around 4 PM for a medical emergency and when they got there they pronounced Coolio dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jarez also said the paramedics suspect he suffered cardiac arrest. An official cause of death has not been determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are saddened by the loss of our dear friend and client, Coolio, who passed away this afternoon. He touched the world with the gift of his talent and will be missed profoundly,\u201d Sheila Finegan, his manager at Trinity Artists International, said in a statement to Variety. \u201cThank you to everyone worldwide who has listened to his music and to everyone who has been reaching out regarding his passing. Please have Coolio\u2019s loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coolio rose to prominence in the Los Angeles rap scene in the \u201990s, scoring his big break when he recorded the song \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d for the 1995 film \u201cDangerous Minds,\u201d starring Michelle Pfeiffer. It quickly became one of the most popular rap songs of all time, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and ending 1995 as the No. 1 single of that year in the United States. In 1996, \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d was nominated for record of the year and best rap solo performance at the Grammy Awards, with Coolio winning the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. on Aug. 1, 1963 in Pennsylvania, Coolio later moved to Compton, Calif. where he joined the hip-hop group WC and the Maad Circle in 1991. A few years later, in 1994, Coolio signed with Tommy Boy Records and released his debut album \u201cIt Takes a Thief.\u201d Catapulted by its lead single \u201cFantastic Voyage,\u201d \u201cIt Takes a Thief\u201d peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and was certified platinum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the success of \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d in the mid-\u201990s, Coolio continued to grow in fame and eventually recorded \u201cAw, Here It Goes!\u201d for the opening sequence of Nickelodeon\u2019s \u201cKenan & Kel,\u201d which he also appeared in. His third album, \u201cMy Soul,\u201d released in 1997 and contained \u201cC U When U Get There,\u201d which hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified gold but didn\u2019t have the same effect as his first two records, and thus became his last record with Tommy Boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coolio would go on to release five more studio albums: 2001\u2019s \u201cCoolio.com,\u201d 2002\u2019s \u201cEl Cool Magnifico,\u201d 2006\u2019s \u201cThe Return of the Gangsta,\u201d 2008\u2019s \u201cSteal Hear\u201d and 2009\u2019s \u201cFrom the Bottom 2 the Top.\u201d As his commercial success in music faded, Coolio became a TV personality, placing third on a German talent show about artists looking to make a comeback in 2004 and appearing on \u201cCelebrity Big Brother\u201d in 2009. Food was also a big love of Coolio\u2019s. He released a cookbook, \u201cCookin\u2019 With Coolio,\u201d in 2009 and competed on the Food Network series \u201cRachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off\u201d in 2012, coming in second place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American rapper, Coolio, known for the iconic hit Gangsta\u2019s Paradise, has died at the age of 59. Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., came up on the L.A. rap scene in...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,138],"tags":[137],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1-e1664469247127.png?fit=604%2C658&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":337,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnigeria24.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}