Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop鈥檚 biggest names of the 1990s with hits including 鈥淕angsta鈥檚 Paradise鈥� and 鈥淔antastic Voyage,鈥� died Wednesday at age 59, his manager said.

Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime manager Jarez Posey told The Associated Press. The cause was not immediately clear.

Coolio won a Grammy for best solo rap performance for 鈥淕angsta鈥檚 Paradise,鈥� the 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film 鈥淒angerous Minds鈥� that sampled Stevie Wonder鈥檚 1976 song 鈥淧astime Paradise.鈥�

He was nominated for five other Grammys during a career that began in the late-1980s.

READ MORE:

Born in Monessen, Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh, Coolio moved to Compton, California, where he went to community college. He worked as a volunteer firefighter and in airport security before devoting himself full-time to the hip-hop scene.

His career took off with the 1994 release of his debut album on Tommy Boy Records, 鈥淚t Takes a Thief.鈥� It鈥檚 opening track, 鈥淔antastic Voyage,鈥� would reach No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A year later, 鈥淕angsta鈥檚 Paradise鈥� would become a No. 1 single, with its dark opening lyrics:

鈥淎s I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there鈥檚 not much left, 鈥榗ause I鈥檝e been blastin鈥� and laughin鈥� so long, that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.鈥�

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Like us on and follow us on