Coolio

This article is about the hip hop artist. For the computer hacker, see Dennis Moran.

Coolio

Coolio (born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. on August 1, 1963 in Compton, California) is an Americancheese rapper and actor perhaps best known for the hit song "Gangsta's Paradise." The album "Gangsta's Paradise" is considered a classic west coast Gangsta Rap album, thanks to songs like "Exercise Yo Game" and "Geto Highlites."

Coolio has also made numerous television and film appearances.

Recording career

His debut, It Takes a Thief, was originally named 'N Da Closet, while Gangsta's Paradise was first titled Geto Highlites, the latter which Coolio confirmed on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps in June 1995, following the premiere of the Paradise video. However, it was later changed to capitalize on the immense success of the single prior to its November release.

Coolio's recordings also appeared on the soundtracks to Clueless (1995) and New Jersey Drive (1995).

In 2005 he co-hosted the MOBO awards in the UK. The MOBO (an acronym for Music Of Black Origin) Awards, established in 1996 by Kanya King, are held annually in the UK to recognize artists of any race or nationality performing music of black origin.

Television

He performed the theme song for the 1996 TV show Kenan and Kel, where he was featured in most of the song. Coolio also was in 2000 movie called Gangland.

In 2001 he was a special guest on Beat the Geeks. In 2002 Coolio guest starred in the hit series Charmed, as a Lazarus demon, in the episode Marry Go Round. He played himself in the episode Coolio Runnings of the animated comedy Duckman. He also voiced Kwanzaa-bot, a one-off character featured in the A Tale Of Two Santas episode of Futurama. In fact, according to the DVD commentary, the producers of Futurama were so impressed by his range of voices, that they said he could do voice-over work professionally.

In 2002, Coolio was a contestant on Celebrity Fear Factor. During the third round, he referred to himself as "El Cool Magnifico" (which would become the title of his fourth studio album.) In the same year, he appeared on Celebrity Bootcamp and won. Coolio starred in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Dracula 3000, in which he played a space-faring stoner named 187. Coolio played a role of US Navy sailor Franky in 2004 Croatian film "Ta divna splitska noć" (Wonderful night in Split), film is dealing with drug scene of that coast. He made another television movie appearance in 2005 as a military officer in the horror film Pterodactyl. That year, he also appeared in Joey on the episode "Joey and the Poker."

In 2006, Coolio appeared in the "Tanner's Ghost" episode of the Celebrity Paranormal Project.

Pop culture references

• His song Gangsta's Paradise was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as Amish Paradise in 1996. Coolio did not take nicely to the parody initially due to claims that he did not sign off on it (Yankovic's agent claimed he did). He did receive royalties, however. Coolio has since forgiven Al, even signing autographs with him at an electronics show.
• In the Twisted Metal 2 game for the Playstation gaming console, he was in a billboard in the game.
• In the television show 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan states that the Black Crusaders wanted him to disappear "just like Coolio" to which Liz Lemon responds "Coolio's still around".

Awards

Coolio in 2007

• 1994 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Rap Video. "Fantastic Voyage"
• 1995 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Fantastic Voyage"
• 1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single Sales Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : American Music Award Win for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist.
• 1996 : Grammy Award Win for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : Grammy Award Nomination for Record of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Rap Video. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Video from a Film . "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Dance Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Male Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
• 1997 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. "Stomp"
• 1998 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Performance. "C U When U Get There"

Discography

Albums

• It Takes a Thief · (1994) Platinum - #67 UK
• Gangsta's Paradise · (1995) 4x Platinum - #18 UK
• My Soul · (1997) Gold - #28 UK
• Fantastic Voyage - The Greatest Hits. (2001)
• El Cool Magnifico · (2002) Gold
• The Return of the Gangsta · (2006) Gold

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US R&B / Hip-Hop	US Rap	UK Singles Chart
1993	"County Line"	-	#97	#27	-	It Takes a Thief
1994	"I Remember"	-	#83	#48	#73	It Takes a Thief
1994	"Fantastic Voyage"	#3	#12	#2	#41	It Takes a Thief
1995	"Gangsta's Paradise" (featuring L.V.)	#1 (3 weeks)	#2	#1	#1	Gangsta's Paradise
1995	"Too Hot"	#24	#31	#6	#9	Gangsta's Paradise
1996	"1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)"	#5	#24	#6	#13	Gangsta's Paradise
1996	"It's All The Way Live (Now)"	#29	#47	#9	#37	Eddie [OST]
1997	"Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (with B-Real, Method Man, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes)	-	-	-	#8	Space Jam [OST]
1997	"The Winner"	-	-	-	#53	Space Jam [OST]
1997	"C U When U Get There" (featuring 40 Thevz)	#12	#34	#7	#3	My Soul
1998	"Ooh La La"	-	-	-	#14	My Soul
2002	"Somebody's Gotta Die" (featuring Krayzie Bone)	-	-	-	-	El Cool Magnifico
2006	"Gangsta Walk" (featuring Snoop Dogg)	-	-	-	#67	The Return of the Gangsta

External links

• Coolio official site
• Coolio videos on Yahoo! Music
• Coolio at IMDb