American rapper Coolio died on Wednesday in the American city of Los Angeles at the age of 59, his manager confirms CNN. In the 1990s, Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr. is, known for songs like Gangsta’s Paradise and Fantastic Voyage.
His manager did not disclose what the rapper died of. Entertainment website TMZ writes that Coolio is said to have visited a friend’s house and was found dead on the floor.
The rapper started his career in the early 90s in Los Angeles. In 1995 he became world famous with Gangsta’s Paradise. The song appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. A year later, Coolio won a Grammy Award for the song, which has been listened to over a billion times on YouTube.
In the years that followed, he continued to make music with varying degrees of success, acting in quite a few films and television series, including Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996), Batman & Robin (1997), The Nanny (1998), Charmed (2002), and Futurama (2001, 2010). He has also appeared in reality shows, including Celebrity Big Brother in the US. According to IMDb’s film database, there are currently three films in production that Coolio was associated with as an actor.
Coolio was convicted several times in the past, including for possession of weapons. The last time was six years ago. Although he hadn’t released any new albums in years, he still performed. Last week he was still on stage in the American city of Chicago, for Saturday October 1, a performance in the German city of Stuttgart was planned.
The rapper and actor was married to Josefa Salinas from 1996 to 2000. He leaves behind six children.
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