Rapper Coolio, made famous by the hit 'Gangsta's Paradise', has died at the age of 59

Death of rapper Coolio, at the age of 59.

He joined the paradise of 'gangsters'!

Rapper Coolio, world famous for his hit 'Gangsta's Paradise' which featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film 'Rebel Minds', has died in Los Angeles, aged 59.

It was his manager and longtime friend Jarez Posey who announced the sad news on the night of Wednesday September 28 to Thursday September 29, without however specifying the cause of death.

According to the people site TMZ, always very well informed, Posey would have claimed to have found the rapper unconscious in the bathroom of a friend. The track of a cardiac incident would be privileged.

Photo credit: Screenshot / You Tube

Rapper Coolio dies aged 59

Born on 1 ^is August 1963 in California, Coolio (Artis Leon Ivey Jr real name) spent all his childhood and youth in the city of Compton, located south of Los Angeles and infamous for the violence of its gangs.

It is also one of the strongholds of hip-hop on the American west coast, from which some major artists of this movement will come out, such as Eazy-E, Dr Dre or The Game and Kendrick Lamar .

It is therefore almost natural that Coolio is moving towards the rap from the end of the 1980s, after having held several jobs in security.

His career only really began in 1994 with the release of his first album “It Takes a Thief” which was certified platinum.

A year later, his second album was released, which was a resounding success around the world. Coolio indeed gained international fame thanks in particular to the title 'Gangsta's Paradise', present on the soundtrack of the film 'Dangerous Minds' with Michelle Pfeiffer.

This international hit, which takes up a famous melody sung by Stevie Wonder in 1976 on the track 'Pastime Paradise', sold millions of copies on the planet and allowed Coolio to win a Grammy Award in 1996.

This will be the peak of his career.

His third album 'My Soul', released in 1997, was somewhat shunned by the public who preferred Puff Daddy to him. With his first album 'No Way Out' (which notably contains the hit track 'Ill Be Missing You' in tribute to the rapper Notorious BIG who was murdered a few months earlier), the latter made a sensational entry into the US rap market.

Cooled by this semi-failure, Coolio then decided to devote himself to his new acting career, which began in 1996, without however giving up music.

But the rapper will only get small roles without ever convincing. Note, however, his presence in the casting of the film 'Batman and Robin' by Joel Schumacher in 1997, as well as small appearances in successful series such as 'A nanny from hell' or 'Tomorrow in the spotlight'.

He will then participate in a few reality TV shows but will never really break through.

Married then divorced, he was the father of 6 children and had had a romantic relationship for many years with the French singer Afida Turner, known for having participated in the first edition of Loft Story.