Rapper Coolio, who helped define hip-hop in the ’90s with his gritty sound and anthems like ‘Gangsta’s Paradise,’ passed away on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He died at the age of 59.
His death was confirmed by his longtime manager, Jarez Posey. According to Mr. Posey, who has been the rapper’s manager for over two decades, Coolio passed away at a friend’s residence at around 5 p.m.
Coolio, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., rose to fame with “Gangsta’s Paradise,” which topped the Billboard charts in 1995 and won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance the following year. At the time, some viewed rappers as flashy criminals.
Later awarded triple-platinum by the RIAA, the song was a bigger success than the film “Dangerous Minds,” in which it was included.
At the MTV Video Music Awards, the music video took the award for Best Rap Video as well as the award for Best Video From a Film.
To put a date on it, Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was born on August 1, 1963. He was up in the legendary hip-hop hotbed of Compton, California, which has given the world such legends as Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and many others.
In 1997, he revealed to The Independent that he and his single mother had spent many happy hours playing board games together.
Coolio had a troubled childhood, evolving from a bookish, asthmatic kid into a teen gangbanger, juvenile offender, and drug user, before finding peace of mind as a volunteer firefighter.
Soon after he began his music career, he was embraced by the expanding hip-hop fan base that had been captivated by the likes of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
According to his official website biography, the rapper, who has had asthma his whole life, was the representative of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
According to Page Six, he suffered an asthma attack during a 2016 concert in Brooklyn, New York, and was rescued by a fan who had brought an inhaler.
How Did Rapper Coolio Die?
According to Coolio’s longtime manager Jarez, Coolio went to a friend’s house to use the restroom but didn’t come out for a while. His friend called for him and ultimately went in to check on him, where he found Coolio lying on the floor.
TMZ reports that law enforcement sources confirmed there were no illegal substances or related paraphernalia present at the scene where Coolio died. The official cause of death will be determined through the utilization of autopsy and toxicology testing.
