The 59-year-old rapper “Coolio, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., has died”, T.M.Z. reported. Reports say that Coolio went to the bathroom at a friend’s house where he was staying “at the time of his death. After Coolio had been in” the room for a while, his friend went to check on him and found him lying on the floor, not moving. When rescuers got to the scene, they said the rapper was dead.
Coolio’s life was pretty quiet. He got “married to Josefa Salinas in 1996, but they split up in 2000. The rapper has six” kids who he has to leave behind. Fans have already started leaving tributes and regrets on the late rapper’s social media pages. Many people have something to say about the last video Coolio shared, which was from a show he did in Texas four days ago. “R.I.P., legend,” wrote one fan.
RIP Coolio 🕊 pic.twitter.com/ybPtkIHH6z
— Spotify (@Spotify) September 29, 2022
When Coolio put out his first record, Takes A Theif, in 1995, he signed with Tommy Boy Records. The record reached its highest position on the Billboard 200 at number 8 and was later certified platinum. Coolio’s first song, “Fantastic Voyage,” was also a hit right away. It reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 at number three. But his next single, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” from the music of the movie “Dangerous Minds,” became his biggest hit and one of the most popular rap songs of all time. The record was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks and sold 2 million copies around the world.
Gangsta’s Paradise won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards, which was Coolio’s first Grammy. The rapper “also won the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist and” three MTV Video Music Awards. Coolio’s Instagram says that Gangsta’s Paradise has been played on Spotify one billion times.
Coolio went on to make eight studio records over the course of his career. 1994’s “It Takes a Thief,” 1995’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” 1997’s “My Soul,” 2001’s “Coolio.com,” 2002’s “El Cool Magnifico,” 2006’s “The Return of the Gangsta,” and 2008’s “Steal Hear” are all movies he’s been in. “From the Bottom to the Top,” his last record, came out in 2009. In addition to making songs, Coolio was in a lot of movies and TV shows. He played himself in The Parent Hood, Martin, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and All That. In ‘Dear God,’ which came out in 1996, the rapper played a guy named Gerard in his first movie role. At this time, we don’t know what killed Coolio, but heart arrest is thought to be the cause. We’ll keep you up to date as we find out more about this story.