Rapper Coolio, best known for the number-one hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” from 1995, has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 59, his management announced on Wednesday.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr., the Grammy-winning musician whose true name was, passed yesterday in Los Angeles. No immediate explanation for the death was given.
Jarez Posey, a close friend and Coolio’s longtime manager, told AFP that the report was true but withheld any further information.
Posey revealed to the celebrity news website TMZ that Coolio was discovered unconscious in a friend’s restroom on Wednesday afternoon.
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Coolio started his rap career in California in the late 1980s, but in 1995, when he recorded “Gangsta’s Paradise” for the “Dangerous Minds” soundtrack, he became famous all over the world.
At the Grammy Awards ceremony the year after, he won best rap solo performance for the song.
The song, which had a tune taken from Stevie Wonder’s 1976 classic “Pastime Paradise,” sold millions of copies worldwide, peaked at the top of the charts in 16 different nations, and was ranked as Billboard’s No. 1 single for 1995.
