‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper and Monessen native
Coolio, the rapper whose gritty and sometimes playful 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, confirmed his death.
Mr. Posey, who worked with the rapper for more than 20 years, said he was told that Coolio died about 5 p.m. 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 his biggest hit, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” in 1995. The grim, minor-key track featuring the singer L.V. spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 and was named the chart’s No. 1 song of the year. It 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 “Pastime Paradise,” by Stevie Wonder. Coolio later told Rolling Stone he cleared the usage via a family connection — his wife knew Mr. Wonder’s brother — with the stipulation that the song couldn’t contain any profanity. Mr. Wonder received a writing credit.
The track nearly did not make it into “Dangerous Minds,” the New York Times critic Caryn James noted in 1996. She wrote that the late addition “turned a preachy Michelle Pfeiffer film about an inner-city teacher into a hit that sounded fresher than it really was.”
Coolio’s other hits included “Fantastic Voyage” — the opening song on his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” from 1994 — and “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” from the “Gangsta’s Paradise” album the following year, both of which were nominated for Grammys. “C U When U Get There,” which samples Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major,” was a standout track on his third album, “My Soul,” from 1997.
But nothing could match the success of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a song that, with its piercing production and ominous background vocals, became instantly distinguishable for millions of ’90s rap fans, especially with a memorable opening verse based on Psalm 23:
“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.”
While Coolio later lamented how his hit overshadowed his other work, he told PopkillerTV in 2018 that the song had taken him on “a great ride.” Its popularity has endured for decades, with the music video garnering a rare billion-plus views on YouTube.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was born on Aug. 1, 1963, in Monessen, Westmoreland County. He grew up in Compton, Calif., a place known for producing some of hip-hop’s most successful artists.
He told The Independent in 1997 that as a child, he would play board games with his single mother, to whom he later dedicated his success. After a turbulent youth — the bookish, asthmatic child became a teenage gang member, juvenile offender and drug addict — Coolio worked as a volunteer firefighter.
In his 20s, he moved to San Jose to live with his father and fight fires with the California Department of Forestry, where he became more spiritual. He later credited Christianity for helping him overcome his addiction to crack.
As he embarked on a music career, Coolio joined a growing wave of West Coast hip-hop that was increasingly mainstream, having surged in national popularity as MTV, radio stations and major labels came to embrace the once-regional and underground sound. After performing with the group WC and the Maad Circle alongside WC, Sir Jinx and DJ Crazy Toones, he went solo.
In recent years, Coolio had become aware of his place in hip-hop history. He said in 2018 that after years of lamenting his struggles in the music industry, he had realized that “people would kill to take my place.”
“I’m sure after I’m long gone from this planet, and from this dimension,” he said, “people will come back and study my body of work.”