The Hip Hop community is grieving yet another devastating loss with the passing of Coolio. On Wednesday (September 28), the West Coast legend was pronounced dead after his longtime manager, Jarez Posey, found him laid out on the bathroom floor of a friend’s home. He was 59.
Fans and friends of Coolio flooded social media with memories and kind words about the late the star and his culture shifting legacy. He found success in the mid 1990s with three chart-topping albums, including 1995’s Gangsta’s Paradise. The video for GP goes down in history as one of the most prolific visuals of the gangsta rap era. It featured R&B singer L.V., as well as an appearance from Golden Globe winning actress Michelle Pfeiffer. The Antoine Fuqua directed visual has over 1 billion streams on Youtube.
Shortly after his death, Michelle shared a portion of the video, honoring her late friend with the caption, “Heartbroken to hear of the passing of the gifted artist @coolio. A life cut entirely too short.” Rest In Peace, Coolio.
Quotable Lyrics
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there’s not much left
‘Cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long, that
Even my mama thinks that my mind is gone