American rapper Coolio, famous for his 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise”, has died at the age of 59, his manager said on Wednesday.
The artist, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr, multiple Grammy Award winner, died in Los Angeles.
Jarez Posey, a manager and longtime friend of Coolio’s, confirmed the news to AFP, without giving further details.
Speaking to TMZ, Posey said Coolio was found unconscious in a friend’s bathroom on Wednesday afternoon.
Coolio began his career as a rapper in California in the late 1980s, but gained international fame in 1995 with the hit “Gangsta’s Paradise”, part of the soundtrack to the movie “Dangerous Minds”.
The following year, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance.
With a musical excerpt from Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” (1976), the single sold millions of copies worldwide, topping the charts in 16 countries and becoming the top song on the Billboard charts in 1995.
