Coolio

Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper.

Coolio
Coolio in November 2002 performing for U.S. Army soldiers in Bosnia
Born	Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (1963-08-01)August 1, 1963 Monessen, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 28, 2022(2022-09-28) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations	Rapper songwriter record producer actor
Years active	1987–2022[1]
Spouse	Josefa Salinas ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 2000)​
Children	10[2]
Musical career
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	West Coast hip hop gangsta rap G-funk[3]
Labels	Tommy Boy Warner Bros. Records Allied Artists Music Group
Website	coolioworld.com

Coolio recorded his first single in 1987, with the title “Whatcha Gonna Do?”. He is best known for his song "Gangsta's Paradise". It was released on the album of the same name. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, two MTV Video Music Award's for Best Rap Video and for Best Video from a Film and a Billboard Music Award for the song and album. Coolio also sang the theme song "Aw, Here It Goes" for the Nickelodeon television show Kenan & Kel.^[4]

Coolio died on September 28, 2022 at his home in Los Angeles, aged 59.^[5][6] The cause of death was from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.^[7][8]

Discography

Studio albums

Coolio has released 8 studio albums:

Year	Album
1997	It Takes a Thief
1998	Gangsta's Paradise
2000	My Soul
2001	Coolio.com
2004	El Cool Magnifico
2005	The Return of the Gangsta
2007	Steal Hear
2010	From the Bottom 2 the Top