Los Angeles: Rapper Coolio Dead

Rapper Coolio has died at the age of 59 in Los Angeles, confirmed his manager. The musician, whose full name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, died at a friend's house, according to , Jarez Posey, and media reports. The cause of death has not been confirmed. Coolio is best known for his 1995 single Gangsta's Paradise, which earned him a Grammy nomination for best solo rap performance. The smash hit was taken from the soundtrack of Michelle Pfeiffer's film Dangerous Minds, and it sampled Stevie Wonder's 1976 song Pastime Paradise.  Gangsta’s Paradise became the No 1 song with its opening lyrics " “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death/ I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left/ ’cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long that/ even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.” The song hit one billion views on YouTube.

Coolio, was an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Coolio achieved mainstream success in the mid-to-late 1990s with his albums It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta's Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997). He was best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit single "Gangsta's Paradise", as well as other singles "Fantastic Voyage, C U When U Get There". Coolio originally rose to fame as a member of the Gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle alongside WC and his brother, Crazy Toones.