‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio dies at age 59

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” has died. Manager Jarez Posey tells The Associated Press that Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died at the Los Angeles home of a friend on Wednesday. The cause was not immediately clear.

Coolio was 59. He won a Grammy for best solo rap performance for “Gangsta’s Paradise,” the 1995 No. 1 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film “Dangerous Minds” that sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise.”