The rap artist who sang of a ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’

Coolio 1962–2022

The song that made Coolio a global star was spawned by a trip to the bathroom. The L.A. rapper had gone into his manager’s house to use the facilities when he heard his manager’s producer roommate tweaking a track based on the 1976 Stevie Wonder song “Pastime Paradise.” It flipped a switch in him, and the opening couplet poured out: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death / I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothing left.” The eventual result was 1995’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a grim meditation on life in Los Angeles’ gang-ridden Compton neighborhood that went triple platinum and earned Coolio a Grammy for best rap solo performance. It was the biggest of several hits notched by Coolio, whose output combined street grit and a melodic, playful approach that set him apart from more hard-boiled peers. “I believe it was divine intervention,” he said of his signature song. “It wanted to come to life, and it chose me as the vessel.”

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., he grew up in Compton, where his stepfather worked for the post office and his mother in a factory, said The Telegraph (U.K.). As a child he was “bright and drawn to books,” but in his teens he took on “a more aggressive persona,” joining a gang, serving time in jail, and becoming hooked on crack. He cleaned up during a stint as a firefighter in San Jose, then returned to L.A. and began making a name in the emerging West Coast rap scene. He landed a break when he signed with the rap label Tommy Boy, which released his debut album, It Takes a Thief, in 1994, said the Los Angeles Times. It yielded a “breakthrough hit,” “Fantastic Voyage,” which reached No. 3 and earned a Grammy nomination. “Gangsta’s Paradise” came the next year.

“World tours followed” for Coolio, said The Guardian (U.K.). But “after five years in the spotlight he fell out of favor,” and in subsequent decades was less known for his music than for his “chirpy work in reality TV, game shows, and film.” Coolio, who died of a suspected heart attack, at times lamented that “Gangsta’s Paradise” overshadowed his other work, but in later years, he was more inclined toward gratitude. The song, he said in 2018, had taken him on “a great ride.”