Biography

Coolio was born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. in 1963. Coolio’s start in the music industry began with the release of “Watcha Gonna Do” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me” in 1987, and although neither single was extraordinarily successful, they helped Coolio establish the connections he needed in the Los Angeles music scene to get his career rolling.  By 1994, he’d signed to Tommy Boy records, and released It Takes a Thief, his debut album.

It Takes a Thief fared quite well, due in part to the strength of the single “Fantastic Voyage” and the heavy airplay it received. The song eventually went on to become one of the year’s biggest rap singles, and the album also spawned the hits “I Remember” and “County Line.” The more lighthearted, easy-going approach to rap helped to distinguish Coolio from some of his contemporaries and the gangsta rap movement, but in 1995 Coolio reached a pinnacle of his career with the song “Gansta’s Paradise,” featured in the film Dangerous Minds. The single went on to become one of the most successful rap songs of all time, rocketing to the top of the charts and becoming the iconic achievement for Coolio, earning him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1996.

Although “Gangsta’s Paradise” proved tough to follow, Coolio went on to enjoy a career that lasted well into the new millennium, with album releases such as: My Soul (1997), El Cool Magnifico (2002), The Return of the Gangsta (2006), Steal Hear (2008), and From the Bottom 2 the Top (2009.) Coolio enjoyed another hit single with “It’s All the Way Live (Now),” in 1996, but experienced only moderate success in comparison to the success he’d achieved with “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Turning his attention to film and television, Coolio made appearances in: Sabring the Teenage Witch (1996), Batman & Robin (1997), The Nanny (1998), Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000), the Convent (2000), Get Over It (2001), Static Shock (2002), Tapped Out (2003), Dracula 3000 (2004), Grad Night (2006), Three Days to Vegas (2007), and most recently the television shows Celebrity Cook-Off and Celebrity Wife Swap.

In addition to his work in music, television, and film, Coolio serves as a spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, since he has lived most of his life with the condition. He also serves as a spokesperson for Environmental Justice and Climate Change in 2008. The organization seeks to educate students about climate change, with a focus on students attending predominantly black universities.