Coolio, the \u201990s rapper who lit up the music charts with hits like \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d and \u201cFantastic Voyage,\u201d died Wednesday afternoon, according to his friend and manager Jarez Posey. He was 59.<\/p>\n
Though details surrounding his death weren\u2019t immediately available, Captain Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department told CNN that paramedics responded to a residence for reports of a medical emergency. When they arrived, they found an unresponsive male and performed \u201cresuscitation efforts for approximately 45 minutes.\u201d The patient \u201cwas determined dead just before 5:00 p.m.,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
Coolio rose to prominence in the Los Angeles rap scene in the \u201990s, scoring his big break when he recorded the song \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d for the 1995 film \u201cDangerous Minds,\u201d starring Michelle Pfeiffer.<\/p>\n
It quickly became one of the most popular rap songs of all time, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and ending 1995 as the No. 1 single of that year in the United States. In 1996, \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d was nominated for record of the year and best rap solo performance at the Grammy Awards, with Coolio winning the latter.<\/p>\n
The song was soon spoofed by \u201cWeird Al\u201d Yankovic, who satirized it as \u201cAmish Paradise,\u201d though Coolio was adamant that he did not give Weird Al permission to do so. However, Coolio later said in interviews that the two made amends.<\/p>\n