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Grammy-winning rapper Coolio dead at 59

Coolio
Posted at 7:38 PM, Sep 28, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-28 22:27:07-04

Rapper Coolio, who is best known for the 1990s hit "Gangsta’s Paradise," has passed away.

His manager Jarez Posey confirmed to TMZ, NBC News, and Rolling Stone that the rapper died Wednesday.

He was 59.

Posey told TMZ and NBC News that Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was at a friend's house in Los Angeles when he excused himself to the restroom. But when he didn't return, they went looking for him and found him unresponsive on the floor.

Posey also told TMZ and NBC News that he believes Coolio may have suffered a heart attack.

But the cause of death was not immediately known, NBC and Rolling Stone reported.

Born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, the rapper moved to Compton, California, in the 1980s, where his music career began, Rolling Stone reported.

His most famous hit, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” gained him worldwide fame when it was featured in the movie “Dangerous Minds."

In 1995, the media outlets reported that he earned a Grammy for the hit, which spent weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 list.