Rapper Coolio, 59, found dead in Los Angeles
Coolio, the ever-popular Grammy-award winning rapper perhaps best known for his 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise, died Wednesday in Los Angeles at the all-too-young age of 59. Jarel Posey, Coolio’s manager, confirmed the tragic news to TMZ, saying that the artist was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of a friend’s house.
MSN reported that no cause of death has yet been announced, but cardiac arrest is suspected, Posey said.
The rapper would never again have a song nearly as big as Gangsta’s Paradise, but had subsequent hits with 1996’s 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New) and 1997’s C U When U Get There.
His career album sales totaled 4.8 million with 978 million on-demand streams of his songs, according to Luminate, a music sales data provider. He would be nominated for six Grammys overall. ~ Aljazeera
Coolio Biography
Although his mega hits came to us back in the 90s, Coolio was still active and he was still performing up until just recently.
Rapper and actor Ice Cube offered up his memories and condolences on Twitter.
Actor / comedian Martin Lawrence also took to social media, saying “deepest condolences and prayers go out to the family of @Coolio.” Yahoo! News shared that Weird Al Yankovic also paid tribute to the late rapper; and he posted a photo of the two of them on Twitter and Instagram.
Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. on August 1, 1963, in Monessen, Pennsylvania, Coolio later moved to Compton, California, and also provided the opening track “Aw, Here It Goes!” for the 1996 Nickelodeon television series “Kenan & Kel.”
~ Rest in Peace Coolio ~
(Cover photo, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
