Rapper Coolio, who dominated the American hip-hop scene in the 1990s with ‘Gangsters Paradise’, died on the 28th (local time).
59 years old.
The Associated Press, citing a manager, said he died at a friend’s house in Los Angeles, USA.
The cause of his death is unknown.
Real name Artis Leon Ivy Jr., was born in 1963 in Monessen, Pittsburgh, southern Pennsylvania.
Coolio released his first album in 1994 on Tommy Boy Records.
‘Fantastic Journey’ which is included in this album was noticed as it reached number 3 on the Billboard Chart.
In an interview while he was alive, he said, “I was introduced to hip-hop when I was 15, and when I was 18, I decided that I wanted to make it my career for the rest of my life, but I had to go to r college and work as a volunteer firefighter or airport security guard for a living.”
In 1995, he sang Gangsters Paradise, the theme song for the film ‘Dangerous Children’, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, and won a Grammy Award.
Gangster’s Paradise is famous for its epic lyrics that deal with the grim life of a black slum, yet contain no clichéd profanity.
“As I walk through the valley of death, I look back on my life and realize that there is not much left.
It’s because we’ve been laughing and talking for so long.
So even my mother thinks my soul has left me.
“
In the 1990s, Coolio was evaluated for not taking sides in the conflict between East and West hip-hop rivals.
However, he was also called by the judicial authorities several times.
In 1998, he was sentenced to probation for assaulting a manager who tried to take things without payment from a store in Stuttgart, Germany.
He was married for a short time to the writer Josefa Salinas and they had four children.
/happy news
