Coolio Trivia | 55 facts about the late rapper

Rapper Coolio, known for hits including «Fantastic Voyage» and «Gangsta’s Paradise» died at age 59.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. His real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., but he became known professionally as Coolio.
2. Coolio was an American rapper, record producer, and actor.
3. He was born on August 1st, 1963.
4. He was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania.
5. He later moved to Compton, California.
6. He attended Compton Community College.
7. He then worked in jobs such as volunteer firefighting and security at Los Angeles International Airport, before becoming a rapper.
8. He died on September 28th, 2022. He was 59 years old.
9. Coolio achieved mainstream success in the mid-to-late 1990s with his albums It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta’s Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997).
10. In 1995 he won a Grammy Award for his hit single “Gangsta’s Paradise”,
11. He provided the opening track “Aw, Here It Goes!” for the 1996 Nickelodeon television series Kenan & Kel.
12. From 1996 on, Coolio released albums independently.
13. He also created a web series titled Cookin’ with Coolio and released a cookbook.
14. Coolio originally rose to fame as a member of the Gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle alongside WC and his brother, Crazy Toones.
15. Coolio recorded his first single in 1987, titled “Whatcha Gonna Do?”.
16. He also recorded “What Makes You Dance (Force Groove)” with Nu-Skool in 1988. Coolio made connections in the L.A. rap scene.
17. In 1991, ended up joining the group WC and the Maad Circle, led by rapper WC.
18. He is a credited co-contributor on the group’s debut album Ain’t a Damn Thang Changed, including on the single “Dress Code”.
19. In 1994, Coolio signed to Tommy Boy Records and released his debut solo album It Takes a Thief.
20. The lead single “Fantastic Voyage” received heavy rotation on MTV and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
21. “Fantastic Voyage” would become one of the biggest rap singles of the year.
22. Other minor hits from the album include “County Line” and “I Remember”.
23. It Takes a Thief peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, becoming certified Platinum.
24. The album received praise for bringing a humorous and lighthearted perspective to the often violent and profane themes of typical gangsta rap.
25. In 1996, Coolio appeared on the Red Hot Organization’s compilation CD America Is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip-hop artists. The CD meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men.
26. That same year, he recorded the music video “Aw, Here It Goes!” for the opening sequence of the Nickelodeon television series Kenan & Kel, which ran for four seasons.
27. Coolio’s third solo album, My Soul, came out in 1997.
28. Although it contains the major hit “C U When U Get There” and the album went platinum, it failed to reach the success of his previous two albums.
29. Coolio was subsequently dropped from the Tommy Boy Records label.
30. Since then, 2001’s Coolio.com, 2003’s El Cool Magnifico, 2006’s The Return of the Gangsta, and 2008’s Steal Hear, 2009’s From the Bottom 2 the Top, and 2017’s Long Live the Thief have not charted on any Billboard chart.
31. He did have a minor hit in the UK in 2006 with “Gangsta Walk” (featuring Snoop Dogg), which peaked at No. 67 on the UK singles chart.
32. While touring with hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse, Coolio received a tattoo as an homage to the group’s fanbase, reading “Jugalo Cool”.
33. He stated that the misspelling was intentional.
34. Coolio performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos.
35. Coolio is featured on an international collaboration track called “Fuck the DJ” by UK rapper Blacklisted MC, also featuring Bizarre of D12, Adil Omar (from Pakistan), and Uzimon (from Bermuda). The song premiered on music website Noisey from Vice in October 2014.
36. In 2004, Coolio appeared as a contestant on Comeback – Die große Chance (translated in English as Comeback: The Big Chance), a German talent show featuring artists looking for a comeback.
37. In 2009, Coolio appeared as a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother.
38. He later went to appear on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, where he decided it was best to leave the house after numerous confrontations with Nadia Almada and others there.
39. In January 2012, he was one of eight celebrities participating in the Food Network reality television series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, where he represented the Music Saves Lives Organization.
40. He also guest starred as himself on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
41. Coolio is featured on the March 5, 2013, episode of the ABC reality program Wife Swap, but his then-girlfriend left him after the program was taped.
42. On June 30, 2013, he appeared alongside comedian Jenny Eclair and Emmerd ale actor Matthew Wolfenden on the UK game show Tipping Point: Lucky Stars, where he came in second.
43. Also on June 30, Coolio voiced a wax figure of himself on Gravity Falls.
44. He also appears on “Homie-Work”, a 1998 episode of The Nanny, in which he portrays a nerdy man, a “gift wrapper”, transformed by the Jewish nanny into a “Rapper” for Maxwell Sheffield’s new rap musical.
45. In 2019, he appeared on Irish rap group Versatile’s track “Escape Wagon”. He later featured on their 2021 album, Fuck Versatile, on the track “Coolio Interlude”
46. In July 2016, Coolio performed on ABC’s Greatest Hits.
47. Coolio guest starred on a 2014 episode of the Adult Swim show Black Jesus titled “Gangsta’s Paradise”
48. He married Josefa Salinas in 1996, and they divorced in 2000.
49. He had 10 kids from different baby-mums.
50. While at a friend’s house on September 28, 2022, Coolio was discovered unresponsive on a bathroom floor.
51. First responders pronounced him dead on their arrival.
52. Police have opened an investigation into his death, though foul play is not suspected.
53. Coolio’s manager stated he appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
54. Coolio and jazz saxophonist Jarez were enlisted in July 2008 as spokespersons by the group Environmental Justice and Climate Change to educate students at historically black colleges and universities about global warming.
55. Coolio was a spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. He said that he and his children are asthma sufferers. As a child, he was taken to the hospital several times due to asthma complications.