“New) (Sumpin’ 4, 3, 2, 1” and “Voyage” Fantastic were songs that made a lot of negative creeps on the radio sound. They invited everyone to slide-slippity-slide away to a more positive state of mind, like hits of love in the doom and gloom. The party was a call to the dance-floor for people who weren’t getting much love from the radio, but it was a blast of G-funk, a West Coast blast. It was an epochal hit for Coolio in the summer of 1994, making him an icon for his playful beats, wild braids, and deadpan humor. Coolio, the MC-raised in Compton, died on a Wednesday night at the young age of 59. He was one of the best-loved voices in Nineties music, especially in hip-hop on the West Coast, and a top hitmaker of the Nineties. Goodbye to the late, great Coolio.”
The song that appealed to individuals of Caucasian descent such as myself was “Gangsta’s Paradise” – according to Coolio, this was his remarkable debut album called “It Takes a Thief.” It was through this album that Coolio achieved his breakthrough success. Coolio famously stated, “Without hip-hop, there is no cool.” Coolio derived inspiration from the hedonistic 1980 dance-floor classic “Fantastic Voyage” by the Midwest R&B band Lakeside. Coincidentally, this song was released just a few weeks prior to Kurt Cobain’s tragic demise. Despite the declining state of pop music, “Fantastic Voyage” managed to stand out among other genres, capturing the attention of both rock and rap enthusiasts.
In one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, Brittany Murphy mourns a breakup and cries over “Homies My With Rollin'” song as the skater misfit girl, Murphy, and her crew party it up. “Homies My With Rollin'” perfectly captures the unique niche of the Nineties pop culture and is a classic teen movie from 1995, Clueless, where Dash, Stacey Silverstone, and Alicia Dash embody the aesthetic of the time. Coolio’s slippity-slide adds a fresh breath of air to its incredibly cool and timeless vibe.
I cook just as well — I can rap as proficiently as I can do one thing, that’s the one thing, man. As he informed me in 2017, the self-proclaimed “King of the Kitchen Pimps” introduced recipes like “Bro-Ghetti” and “Chicken Lettuce Blunts.” The title of his cookbook, filled with recipes for his “Ghetto Gourmet” cuisine, was also his web series Cookin’ With Coolio, which expanded with projects like his family reality show Coolio’s Rules. Coolio never ceased working hard, never ceased hustling, Coolio never stopped.
I freestyled that, the dome came off the top and wrote that down; I look at my life and see there’s nothing left to see. I opened up my mind as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, hearing the hook, the line, and the bass. I started writing and wrote that down as he told it in Rolling Stone in 2015. He wrote it when his producer heard the song Wonder playing. “Gangsta’s Paradise” blew up into the bestselling single of the year and reached Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. It came from the soundtrack of the movie Dangerous Minds, specifically from Michelle Pfeiffer’s Coolio’s “Paradise” song released 46 years before his death. His most famous hit was “Gangsta’s Paradise,” where he rapped about the struggle in the ghetto over Stevie Wonder’s track “Pastime Paradise” in 1995.
Stevie Wonder expressed his disapproval when Coolio removed the offensive language from the original verse, but he later united with Coolio and L.V. On stage at the Billboard Music Awards for a remarkable rendition of both tracks. This performance eventually transformed into “Amish Paradise,” one of Weird Al Yankovic’s most successful hits in the 1990s. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Yankovic revealed that “Gangsta’s Paradise” had a strong desire to be created and it specifically chose him as its conduit. He believed that this occurrence was a result of divine intervention. Yankovic spontaneously composed the entire song in that moment.
“Aw Here It Goes,” the theme song for the Nickelodeon comedy series Kenan & Kel, Coolio contributed and also appeared on family-friendly TV shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Similar to Coolio, no one did a better job of successfully blending those mindsets. “Get Up, Get Down” and “The Revolution” concluded Gangsta’s Paradise with a powerful combination. “Kinda High Kinda Drunk” was a track right alongside his empowering tribute to Black women, “For My Sistas.” He had the ability to pull it off – he was skilled enough to create catchy party anthems without compromising his reputation as a rapper. It was a delicate balancing act. “Gangsta’s Paradise” was a riskier move commercially compared to “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New),” which was a call to hit the dance floor. Kool & the Gang provided a disco rhythm. With a storyline that unfolded as a plan, “Too Hot” produced hits like his Gangsta’s Paradise album.
Coolio scored hits by keeping the loop of Canon Pachelbel’s “Get U When U C There” like his 1997 tribute to dead-homies and also dueted with Snoop Dogg on the comeback album “The Return of the Gangsta” in 2006. He teamed up with country legend Kenny Rogers for a fine update of his album “The Gambler” in 2001, and their duet video “Hustler” was featured on the show that let him record a record.
“BlackGyver, you know who I’m talking about? He told me that he was busy repairing it with a sledgehammer and a power drill — he just didn’t have a roadie to help him with the job. But I ain’t having that shit, I tried to get him to use these small fabric pieces instead. “They seriously took care of the details,” explained Mic Saber, my cool jewel-studded custom-built microphone case. He was working hard to fix his favorite microphone and I couldn’t have had more fun hanging out with him, dude. As expected, Coolio was killing it on stage. The lights lit up and it looked good. He proved that he still had it, where he performed at Nineties-themed festivals and shows. Coolio was always a highlight of the Love Nineties Tour in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2017. I talked to him backstage and it was a blast.”
“Obtain that cash. While you have the opportunity,” stated Coolio. Did Coolio offer any guidance for them? “Now it’s the post-drug dependency era — we’re in the meth times. The incoherent musicians of today are the grown-up drug-addicted babies. So if they’re slightly distorted and peculiar, it’s not really their fault. They engage in a lot of foolish actions, but they occasionally display moments of brilliance,” he expressed. However, unlike numerous rappers from his generation, he harbored no resentment towards the new-school stars. “Those were the drug dependency days,” he remarked. Coolio had plenty to say regarding the rap scene and how it has transformed throughout the years.
“The ebony Van Halen, also known as the urban Peter Pan,” declared his saxophonist Jarez. Coolio brandished the microphone, striking various poses resembling a rock star. With pride, he hoisted it up high, akin to Excalibur, after repairing his microphone case. He jokingly referred to it as “Mic-calibur.”
Forever sliding and slipping, the legends from the past to the present are Coolio bidding farewell and Halen, resting in peace. “Call me Halen Bang,” said Coolio. “Halen Bang Gang.”