Coolio, the ’90s rapper who lit up the music charts with hits like “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” has died at the age of 59.
Coolio died yesterday in the afternoon, but details on the circumstances leading to his death are not immediately available.
Law enforcement sources say paramedics were called to a house in Los Angeles around 4 PM yesterday for a medical emergency, and when they got there they pronounced Coolio dead.
Coolio grew up in Compton, California.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 1994, he recalled falling into the drug scene but getting himself out by pursuing a career as a firefighter.
His rap career began in the ’80s, and he gained fame in the underground scene. “Fantastic Voyage” was the first song that really put him on the map.
Arguably his biggest song, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” from the soundtrack to the film “Dangerous Minds,” grew his star power to gigantic proportions.
He won a Grammy in 1996 for the song.
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Source: TMZ
