The rapper, best known for his 1995 hit Gangsta's Paradise, was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of a friend's house in Los Angeles on Wednesday (September 28), his manager Jarez Posey told US media.
The exact cause of his death has not yet been revealed, however Posey told TMZ, which first reported the news, that medics believed he may have suffered a heart attack.
Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Compton, California where he emerged onto the West Coast hip hop scene with his first single in 1987. It was his track Gangsta's Paradise that propelled him into the spotlight and earned him a Grammy Award for best solo rap performance. It also led the soundtrack for Michelle Pfeiffer's 1995 film Dangerous Minds.
Stars including Pfeiffer, LL Cool J, Martin Lawrence, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube have taken to social media to pay tribute to Coolio.
"Heartbroken to hear of the passing of the gifted artist Coolio," Pfeiffer wrote on Instagram next to a clip from Gangsta’s Paradise, in which she appeared alongside the rapper. "I remember him being nothing but gracious. 30 years later I still get chills when I hear the song."
"This is sad news. I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace," Ice Cube tweeted.
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