Artis Leon Ivey Jr. better known by his stage name Coolio (born August 1, 1963 in Monessen, Pennsylvania; died September 28, 2022 in Los Angeles, California), was an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer. He was most famous for his rap song "Gangsta's Paradise" from the 1995 drama film Dangerous Minds.
Early Life[]
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was born August 1, 1963 in Monessen, Pennsylvania. He was raised mostly in Compton, California. After attending Compton Community College. he worked in jobs such as volunteer firefighting and security at the Los Angeles International Airport before becoming a rapper.
Music Career[]
He recorded two singles in 1987, titled Watcha Gonna Do and You're Gonna Miss Me. Coolio made connections in the Los Angeles rap scene, and in 1991, ended up joining the group WC and the Maad Circle, led by rapper WC. He had a few verse on the group's debut album Ain't a Damn Thang Changed, including on the single Dress Code. The album was regionally successful.
Tommy Boy Records and It Takes a Thief[]
In 1994, Coolio signed to Tommy Boy Records and released his solo debut album It Takes a Thief. The lead single Fantastic Voyage received heavy rotation on MTV, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard hot 100. Fantastic Voyage would become one of the biggest rap singles of the year, and the album contained a few minor hits in Country Line and I Remember. It Takes a Thief peaked at #8 on the Billboard200, becoming certified Platinum. The album received praise for being a humorous and lighthearted perspective to often violent and profane themes of typical gangsta rap.
Gangsta's Paradise[]
In 1995, Coolio made a song for the movie Dangerous Minds, which was entitled Gangsta's Paradise, which featured R&B singer L.V., would become one of the most successful rap songs of all time, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks. It was the #1 single of 1995 for all genres, and was a global hit, as it reached #1 in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. The song also created a controversy when Coolio claimed that parody artist Weird Al Yankovic had not asked permission to make his parody of Gangsta's Paradise titled Amish Paradise. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, the song won Coolio a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.
Originally Gangsta's Paradise was not meant to be included on one of Coolio's studio albums, but its success led to Coolio not only putting it on his next album, but also making it the title track. The title track sampled the chorus and music of the R&B song Pastime Paradise by Stevie Wonder, which was recorded nearly 20 years earlier on his album "Songs in the Key of Life" from 1976. The album Gangsta's Paradise was released in 1995 and was certified 2X Platinum by the RIAA. The album contained two other major hits in 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New) and Too Hot with J.T. Taylor of Kool & the Gang doing the chorus. Despite no longer being an official member of the group, Coolio made an appearance on the second WC and the Maad Circle album Curb Servin', on the song In a Twist. In 1996, Coolio had another top 40 hit song It's All the Way Live (Now) from the soundtrack to the movie Eddie. He was also featured on the song Hit 'em High from the soundtrack to the movie Space Jam with B-Real, Method Man, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
Red Hot Organization and Tommy Boy Records dismissal[]
In 1996, Coolio on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan and Fat Joe, among many other Hip Hop artist. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine. That same year, he recorded the theme song and appeared in the opening sequence on the Nickelodeon TV series Kenan & Kel, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, which ran for four seasons.
After the success of Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio's next album was expected to be another hit. His third solo album titled My Soul, came out in 1996. Although it contained the major hit C U When U Get There and the album went Platinum, it failed to reach the success of his previous two albums. Coolio was dropped from Tommy Boy Records and his album since then, 2001's Coolio.com, 2003's El Cool Magnifico, 2006's The Return of the Gangsta and 2008's Steal Hear, have not charted on any Billboard chart. He did have a minor hit in the UK in 2006 with Gangsta Walk (featuring Snoop Dogg), which peaked at #67 on the UK pop chart.
While touring with hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, Coolio received a tattoo as a homage to the group's fanbase, reading "Jugalo Cool"[sic]. He stated that the misspell was intentional. Coolio has performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos.
Television[]
In 1998, he appeared on the sitcom The Nanny in the episode "Homie-work" (aired March 18, 1998) where he portrays a nerdy man, a "gift wrapper" transformed by the Jewish nanny into a "rapper" for Maxwell Smith's new rap musical.
In 2008, Coolio had his own short-lived reality series called Coolio's Rules on the cable network Oxygen where it focused on him and his family living in Los Angeles, California where he tries to balance being a musician, a bachelor looking for love, an entrepreneurial caterer and being a single parent raising four teenagers. It ran from October 28 until December 2, 2008 for six episodes in total.
In 2009, Coolio appeared as a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother. He later went to appear on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, where he was later removed from the house for unacceptable behavior towards Nadia Almada and others in the house. In January 2012, he was one of the eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, where he represented the Music Saves Lives organization. He came in second place with a Zagat score of 23 out of 30, losing to Lou Diamond Phillips. As runner-up, he was awarded $10,000 for his charity.
Coolio was featured on the March 5, 2013, episode of the ABC reality program Wife Swap (more specifically Celebrity Wife Swap), and his then girlfriend at the time left him after the program was taped.
In game shows, Coolio has appeared on Match Game (Burger), Pyramid (Osmond) and Catch 21 in the U.S. and in the U.K. on June 30, 2013, he appeared alongside comedienne Jenny Éclair and Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden on Tipping Point: Lucky Stars, where he came in second.
In 2012, he appeared on an episode of the Disney Channel animated series Gravity Falls where he voiced a waxed figured of himself, the episode was called "Headhunters" (aired June 30, 2012).
Coolio guest starred on a 2014 episode of the Adult Swim show Black Jesus "ironically" titled Gangsta's Paradise (aired October 2, 2014).
In July 2016, Coolio performed his hit on the short-lived ABC series Greatest Hits hosted by Arsenio Hall and Kelsea Ballerini. In the same year, the band Falling in Reverse did a cover of the song for Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2 with Coolio himself making a cameo appearances in the music video.
Other Appearances[]
In 2019, Coolio appeared on Irish rap group Versatile's track "Escape Wagon". He later featured on their 2021 album F*ck Versatile on the track "Coolio Interlude".
Charitable Work[]
Coolio and Jazz saxophonist Jarez were enlisted in July 2008 as spokespersons by the group Environmental Justice and Climate Change to educate students at historically black colleges and universities about global warming. Coolio was a spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. He said that he and his children are asthma sufferers. As a child, he was taken to the hospital several times due to asthma complications.
Personal Life[]
As mentioned before, Coolio appeared in the 2009 season of the British television show Celebrity Big Brother. Coolio talked about his six children from four different relationships.
In 2013, a federal court entered a default judgment against Coolio after he was sued by a woman for his actions in jumping on the woman's back and bull riding her. Later in 2013, Coolio was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after he was accused of punching a girlfriend of three years in the face during an argument on April 1 after he brought another woman home.
In 2020, Coolio was the running mate for pornographic actress Cherie DeVille's Democratic presidential run.
Death[]
On September 28, 2022; while at a friend's house, Coolio[1]was discovered unresponsive on a bathroom floor. First responders pronounced him dead on their arrival. Police opened an investigation into his death though foul play is not suspected and Coolio's manager stated he appeared to have suffered from cardiac arrest primarily caused by a fentanyl overdose he took, he was 59 years old. He is survived by his six children and ex-wife, Josefa Salinas married in 1996 whom he divorced four years later in 2000. On April 6, 2023; it was announced by a Los Angeles County Coroner's Office[2]that his cause of death is not only with the use of fentanyl but also from a deadly combination of heroin and methamphetamine in his system according to them.
Tributes[]
Celebrities[1]including: Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Weird Al Yankovic, Martin Lawrence, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kenan Thompson, LL Cool J, Melissa Joan Hart, MC Hammer, Bret Michaels, Denzel Curry and LeBron James all paid tribute to him following his death.
Shows appeared[]
- Fear Factor (Rogan)
- Beat the Geeks
- Celebrity Boot Camp
- The Weakest Link (Robinson)
- Pyramid (Osmond)
- Hollywood Squares (Bergeron)
- Match Game (Burger)
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks
- Celebrity Poker Showdown
- Celebrity Blackjack
- Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off
- Catch 21
- Figure it Out (Sanders)