UNITED STATES NEWS

Fentanyl caused ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio’s death

Apr 6, 2023, 3:03 PM | Updated: 5:18 pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died last year because of fentanyl, his manager said.

Coolio’s former longtime manager Jarez Posey told The Associated Press Thursday that Coolio’s cause of death was fentanyl and that he also had traces of heroin and methamphetamine in his system.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office listed his death as accidental and cited cardiomyopathy as a “significant condition.” Posey also confirmed that investigators determined Coolio’s severe asthma and cigarette smoking played a role in his death.

Coolio — born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., on Aug. 1, 1963 — died at the Los Angeles home of a friend on Sept. 28, 2022. He was 59.

Coolio won a Grammy for best solo rap performance for “Gangsta’s Paradise,” the 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film “Dangerous Minds” that sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise.”

Coolio was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Compton, California.

He started rapping at 15 and knew by 18 it was what he wanted to do with his life, he said in interviews. Coolio attended community college before devoting himself full-time to the hip-hop scene.

His career album sales totaled 4.8 million, with 978 million on-demand streams of his songs, according to Luminate. He would be nominated for a total of six Grammys.

With his distinctive person, he became a cultural staple, acting occasionally, providing a voice for an animated show and providing the theme music for a Nickelodeon sitcom.

Coolio’s estate plans to release a studio album later this year that he had been working on in the days before he died.

United States News

Associated Press

Man freed after 11 years in prison sues St. Louis and detectives who worked his case

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis man who spent 11 years behind bars for a killing before his conviction was overturned is suing the city and detectives who worked on his case, claiming the conviction for a crime he didn’t commit violated his constitutional rights. Lamont D. Cambell’s lawsuit claims that a faulty investigation […]

3 minutes ago

Associated Press

Michigan State selects UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor as next president

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University named the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as it’s next president Friday morning, ending a search that began last October after the previous president quit amid tension with the school’s governing board. Kevin Guskiewicz, who has served as chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill for […]

2 hours ago

Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del....

Associated Press

Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe

Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden's son intensifies.

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Man suspected of firing shotgun outside Jewish temple in upstate New York faces federal charges

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man arrested for firing a shotgun into the air outside a Jewish temple in upstate New York been federally charged, officials said. Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, who officials say fired the shotgun twice outside a synagogue in Albany on Thursday, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Woman charged with attempted arson of Martin Luther King Jr. birthplace in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police have arrested a woman who’s accused of trying to burn down the birth home of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta. Officers arrested the 26-year-old woman around 5:45 p.m. Thursday after responding to a report of vandalism in process at the two-story home in the historic Auburn Avenue […]

4 hours ago

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Oct. 30, 2023, in Washington...

Associated Press

Biden heads to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2B for 10 major rail projects around the country

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could one day link Nevada and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The administration says the […]

7 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @iamdamonallred...

Avoid a potential emergency and get your home’s heating and furnace safety checked

With the weather getting colder throughout the Valley, the best time to make sure your heating is all up to date is now. 

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

Fentanyl caused ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio’s death