Coolio, Grammy Award-Winning 'Gangsta's Paradise' Rapper, Dead at 59
Coolio, best known for his 1995 Grammy-Award-winning single "Gangsta's Paradise," has died, his manager confirms to PEOPLE. He was 59.
The rapper's cause of death has not been publicly shared.
His longtime manager, Jarez Posey, tells PEOPLE that Coolio โ born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. โ died Wednesday in Los Angeles.
According to TMZ, which was first to report the news, Posey said the late musician went to the bathroom at a friend's house. When he didn't come out, the friend called his name but he didn't answer. They then found Coolio on the floor.
The friend called for help, per the outlet, and once responders arrived, Coolio was pronounced dead.
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The fire department also confirmed the news in a statement to PEOPLE.
"LAFD arrived four minutes after dispatch to find an approximately 60-year-old male unresponsive, and they performed resuscitation efforts for approximately 45 minutes, per protocol," the statement read. "With consultation through the Base Hospital Physician, the patient was declared dead just before 5 p.m. PT. "LAFD cleared the scene, which was left under LAPD supervision, awaiting the Coroner."
Born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, in 1963, Coolio later moved to Compton, California, where he attended Compton Community College before becoming a rapper.
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Coolio released the hit single "Gangsta's Paradise," featuring singer L.V., in 1995. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and won the Grammy Award for best rap solo performance at the 1996 Grammys.
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In an interview with The Irish Examiner in July, the rapper looked back at the track's success. "You make music and you never think about what it's going to do and what it's not going to do," he said at the time. "This is the amazing thing about 'Gangsta's Paradise' and I'm proud of it. It only got put up on YouTube on Tommy Boy [the hip hop platform] four years ago. It reached a billion views in four years."
He added, "I reached a billion the same week 50 Cent reached a billion with 'In Da Club.' It took 'In Da Club' 17 years to reach a billion. It took me four."
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Kris Connor/Getty Coolio
In addition to eight studio albums, he appeared in the reality show Coolio's Rules on Oxygen in 2008. He also provided the opening track, titled "Aw, Here It Goes!," for the Nickelodeon television series Kenan & Kel.
He made additional television appearances, including on Celebrity Big Brother in 2009 and on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010. He also created a web series titled Cookin' with Coolio and released a cookbook titled Cookin' with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price.
In his interview with The Irish Examiner, Coolio said that he was working on new music, including a collaboration with Christy Dignam of the Irish rock band Aslan.
"We've just got into it. We're working on a track. We haven't even started writing any lyrics. The track is being built as we speak. Somewhere within the next four to six weeks we should have something tangible we could work with," he said this summer.
"It's probably going to be a banger, I would imagine. I don't know if it's going to be dark and deep or if we're going to go clubby and happy โ that remains to be seen. I'm more inclined with being dark and deep and still being a banger."
Questlove was one of the first celebrities to react to the news on social media. Sharing a photo of the late rapper, he wrote, "Peaceful Journey Brother. #Coolio."