Coolio has passed away, his management confirms to PEOPLE. Coolio was best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning track “Gangsta’s Paradise.” He was 59.
The rapper’s cause of death hasn’t been made known to the public.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr., better known by his stage as Coolio, passed away on Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager Jarez Posey.
Posey claimed the late musician visited a friend’s residence to use the restroom, according to TMZ, which broke the news first. The friend shouted his name when he still wasn’t outside but he didn’t respond. Then they discovered Coolio on the ground.
According to the site, the companion called for assistance, and when rescuers arrived, Coolio had already been declared dead.
In a statement, the fire department also confirmed the information.
According to the statement, “LAFD responded four minutes after dispatch to find a male patient who was approximately 60 years old and unresponsive, and they attempted resuscitation efforts for approximately 45 minutes, following protocol.” Just before 5 p.m. PT, the patient was pronounced deceased after consulting with the Base Hospital Physician. “LAFD cleaned the area, which was left under LAPD supervision, awaiting the Coroner.
Coolio, who was born in 1963 in Monessen, Pennsylvania, eventually relocated to Compton, California, where he studied at Compton Community College before breaking into the rap game.
In 1995, Coolio released the popular song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” which featured L.V. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, the song took home the Grammy Award for best rap solo performance after spending three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
The rapper reflected on the track’s success in a July interview with The Irish Examiner. At the time, he stated, “You compose music and you never think about what it’s going to do and what it’s not going to do. “This is the incredible thing about ‘Gangsta’s Paradise,’ and I’m proud of it,” said the rapper Tommy Boy. “It was just uploaded to YouTube on the hip-hop platform four years ago, and it gained a billion views in four years.”
It took ‘In Da Club’ 17 years to reach a billion, whereas it took me four, he continued. “I reached a billion the same week 50 Cent reached a billion with ‘In Da Club.
He released eight studio albums and, in 2008, made an appearance on the reality program Coolio’s Rules on Oxygen. He also contributed the “Aw, Here It Goes!,” the theme song of the Nickelodeon comedy Kenan & Kel.
He additionally appeared on television, most notably in the 2009 and 2010 seasons of Celebrity Big Brother and Ultimate Big Brother, respectively. Additionally, he published a cookbook named Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price and a web series titled Cookin’ with Coolio.
Coolio said that he was working on new songs during an interview with The Irish Examiner. This included a joint project with Christy Dignam of the Irish rock group Aslan.
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The tune is being developed as we speak, and within the next four to six weeks, we should have something concrete we can work with, he said this summer. “We’ve just got into it. We’re working on a track. We haven’t even begun writing any lyrics.
I think it will be a banger, but I’m not sure if it will be dark and deep or if we’ll go clubby and cheerful. I lean toward it being dark and deep while still being a banger.