Grammy Award-winning rapper Coolio died from a “sudden and unexpected” heart attack on Wednesday. The rapper was likely fully jabbed, like many others in the industry.
According to reports, paramedics declared that the 59-year-old artist, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., had suffered cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“As far as what I know now is that he was at a friend’s house and was in his bathroom and had a heart attack,” Jarez Posey, the rappers longtime manager, told reporters.
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Deseret.com reports: The Roots drummer/frontman Questlove was one of the first celebrities to react to the news on social media, per People. “Peaceful Journey Brother,” he wrote.
Rapper Ice Cube also paid tribute to Coolio: “This is sad news,” he wrote. “I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace.”
What was Coolio best known for?
Coolio’s music career spanned more than three decades. The Los Angeles-based rapper rose to stardom in the mid-1990s with the song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” which was featured on the soundtrack for the 1995 film “Dangerous Minds,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer, according to Variety. It was the No. 1 single of 1995 in the U.S., per Billboard, and is one of the most popular rap songs of all time.
The song reached 1 billion views on YouTube earlier this year, CNN reported.
“It’s one of those kinds of songs that transcends generations,” Coolio said in a recent interview, per CNN. “I didn’t use any trendy words … I think it made it timeless.”
The song was also the inspiration for “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Amish Paradise.” Yankovic paid tribute to Coolio Wednesday night, sharing a photo of the two embracing.
Coolio was also well known for writing “Aw, Here it Goes,” the theme song for the popular 1990s Nickelodeon show “Keenan and Kel.”
