Musicians and celebrities are paying tribute to Coolio, the late rap star who was behind one of hip-hop’s biggest hits, and whose own nickname would become shorthand for a good hit.
Reportedly, Coolio was found dead on the bathroom floor of his friend’s house on Wednesday (September 28). First responders initially suspect he suffered a cardiac arrest, however, at the time of writing, the official cause of death has yet to be determined.
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The American artist (real name Artis Leon Ivey Jr.) landed one of the all-time hip-hop stars with “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a song that interpolates Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise.” and appeared in the Michelle Pfeiffer-starring 1995 film, Dangerous spirits.
“Gangsta’s Paradise” was no ordinary hit. It’s become a supernova, everywhere. In Australia, the single topped the national ARIA chart for 13 uninterrupted weeks in 1995 – a streak that lasted until Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” topped the survey for 14 consecutive weeks after its release in 2017. .
The enduring nature of the song was confirmed when, in July this year, “Gangsta’s Paradise” joined YouTube’s billion view club.
The official music video won the Best Rap Video category at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, the same year it was crowned the top-selling single on Billboard’s year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart after spending 12 weeks in the first two positions; it recorded a total of 62 weeks on the chart, including 3 at No. 1 and 11 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs tally.
The track, one of Coolio’s six hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, went on to win the Billboard Music Award for Single of the Year and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.
If everything in your life was “coolio” in the 1990s, you were fine.
Tributes are pouring in for Coolio, including posts from Questlove, Ice Cube and Weird Al Yankovic, who parodied “Gangsta’s Paradise” with “Amish Paradise.”
Check out some of the reactions below on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Briggs/status/1575293768982372353
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