Coolio, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ Rapper, Dies at 59

"Coolio, the rapper whose playful and sometimes gritty takes on West Coast rap and anthemic hits like “Gangsta’s Paradise” made him a hip-hop star in the 1990s, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 59.

His longtime manager, Jarez Posey, said he was told that Coolio died at a friend’s house. No cause was given.

Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., achieved mainstream superstardom and critical success with “Gangsta’s Paradise” in 1995. A grim, minor-key track that featured the singer L.V. and drew on Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise,” it spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 and was named the chart’s No. 1 song of the year.

It also won the Grammy for best rap solo performance in 1996 and was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, outshining the movie it was featured in, the high school drama “Dangerous Minds.”

“Coolio still builds his raps on recognizable 1970s oldies, and he delivers intricate, syncopated rhymes as if they were conversation,” Jon Pareles wrote in an album review in The New York Times, noting that “Gangsta’s Paradise” uses “the somber minor chords” of Mr. Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise.” Coolio told Rolling Stone that he had cleared the usage through a family connection — his wife knew one of Mr. Wonder’s brothers — with the stipulation that the song couldn’t contain any profanity. Mr. Wonder received a writing credit."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/arts/music/coolio-rapper-dead.html

Gangsta's Paradise
C U When U Get There