Artis Leon Ivey Jr. became a cult in the 1990s with “Gangsta’s Paradise”. However, his criminal past always caught up with the one-hit wonder Coolio.
Coolio was moderately successful as an actor. But the role as a gangster suited him. Seen here in the film «Leprechaun in the Hood».
Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles, is so dangerous that songs have been written and movies made about it. It didn’t take long for Artis Leon Ivey Jr. to adapt to where he lived. Moved to the West Coast as a child, after his parents divorced, he joined the brutal street gang «Mona Park Compton Crips» and started a career as a petty criminal. He was convicted several times for possessing drugs and weapons, and in Germany in 1998 for being an accessory to robbery and bodily harm.
At the time, Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was already a star thanks to his hit “Gangsta’s Paradise”, he had given up his real name and become Coolio. Years earlier, a passerby in Los Angeles saw him playing music and confused him with Julio Iglesias. The mistake cannot be explained, the name stuck.
It was music that helped many young people in Compton to keep one foot on the ground. dr From there, Dre and Ice Cube started their world careers by singing about and against violence. Coolio also came into contact with the hip-hop scene early on, but didn’t seem interested in gangsta rap at first. In 1994 he landed his first success with the single “Fantastic Voyage”.
Coolio performing in Las Vegas in 2015.
Shortly thereafter, when Coolio was asked to contribute the theme song to the film “Dangerous Minds”, his record company was skeptical. The film was dark, told about a teacher (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the problems of adolescents on the American west coast. But Coolio had made a name for himself with more happy songs. But his life story fitted perfectly with the plot of the film, he agreed. And wrote the soundtrack of his life.
The very first line of “Gangsta’s Paradise” is legendary: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothing left.” A combination of Bible Psalm 23:4 and life in Los Angeles. The song was a bit heavily based on Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise”, but that didn’t bother anyone. Someone sang or spoke about the brutality and crime in the “Golden State”, for once not with the usual sexism and smug behavior of gangsta rap, but reflected, almost melancholy.
In 1998, Coolio is awaiting trial at the district court in Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg.
When the hits didn’t come, he became a reality TV star
In 1996 there was a Grammy for it, countless number 1 placements and gold records. Coolio was at his peak. After that it went down again. He remained a one-hit wonder.
In the 1990s, once-and-never-again artists were booming. Fools Garden, Los del Río, Emilia, Lou Bega and countless others wrote a single world hit and lived off it their entire lives. Or desperately ran after success. Coolio belonged to the latter category. Although he remained in the charts because of his fame and two years after “Gangsta’s Paradise” he managed another success with “CU When U Get There”. But it wasn’t enough for him to go all the way forward.
Instead, from then on he was mainly busy with guest appearances in series like “The Nanny”, performed his mega hit at parties in the 1990s, took part in various reality formats such as “Big Brother” and was the star in his own format “Coolio’s Rules”. . After six episodes it was over, the audience had spoken.
Coolio at a film premiere with his ex-wife Josefa and five of his six children.
Everything ended where it began
The descent continued. In 2014 the rapper shot a promotional video for Pornhub, in 2017 adult entertainment actress Cherie DeVille wanted to run for US President and made Coolio her vice presidential mate. The two dubbed their campaign “Make America Fucking Awesome Again” and failed miserably.
The boy who managed to escape from Compton to become a mega-star could never escape his past. In 2016, he and his crew were arrested for carrying a loaded gun at Los Angeles Airport. For the last few years, Coolio has been living back in Compton. He died Wednesday in Los Angeles at a friend’s house. The circumstances have not yet been clarified.
Coolio leaves behind six children and the hope of not being forgotten. In 2018 he said in an interview: “I am sure that people will study my work even after I have left this planet.”