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American rapper Coolio passed away at the age of 59 in Los Angeles, multiple news outlets confirmed.
On September 28, the star's manager Jarez Posey confirmed the news of his death to Rolling Stone, while his Trinity Artists International manager, Sheila Finegan, issued a statement to Variety.
As of now, the cause of his death is unknown.
Coolio was a millionaire at the time of his death
Born on August 1, 1963, Coolio was a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, before moving to Compton, California. The 59-year-old rapper's father was a carpenter, while his mother worked at a factory. The rapper, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., attended school in Compton before enrolling into the Compton Community College.
As per Celebrity Net Worth, Coolio's net worth at the time of his death was $1.5 million.
Coolio used to work in airport security and as a volunteer firefighter before switching his profession to a full-time hip-hopper. The rapper, who battled addition, said that working with a firefighting crew helped him "clean up" for good. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 1994, he said:
“In firefighting training was discipline I needed. We ran every day. I wasn’t drinking or smoking or doing the stuff I usually did.”
In late 1980s, the rapper released his debut single, Watcha Gonna Do, which was heard locally on a hip-hop station. He later collaborated with WC and the Maad Circle, contributing to their debut album, Ain't a D*mn Thang Changed, released in 1991.
Coolio rose to prominence in 1994 with the release of his debut album, It Takes a Thief, with its track Fantastic Voyage reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
However, his best work has been his 1995 track Gangsta's Paradise, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Solo Rap performance. The hit was taken from the soundtrack of 1995's film Dangerous Minds, and sampled Stevie Wonder's 1976 song Pastime Paradise.
Throughout his career, the rapper earned five Grammy Award nominations. His popular song, Gangsta's Paradise, hit one billion views on YouTube this year, which led him to make a video for his fans to honor the milestone. In the video, he said:
“I want to thank everybody for all the years of love and being there for me. I hope I got you through some good times and got you through some bad times.”
Aside from his music career, the rapper was also an actor, who starred in several films and television series.
As per his IMDb profile, the rapper starred in Martin, The Parent 'Hood, Dangerous Minds, Dear God, Batman & Robin, The Nanny, Malcolm & Eddie, Midnight Mass, Big Brother, Submerged, Gangland, Stealing Candy, A Wonderful Night in Split, Star-ving and Nina, among others.
He also developed a cooking series and wrote a cookbook which increased his fan following.
As mentioned earlier, his cause of death is unknown but it was at a friend's place where he reportedly died.
