Coolio, Grammy-winning rapper, dies in Los Angeles at 59

Singer Coolio performs before a panel discussion on his new Oxygen Network reality series “Coolio’s Rules” at the NBC Universal summer 2008 press tour in Beverly Hills, California July 20, 2008. Image: Reuters/Fred Prouser

LOS ANGELES — Grammy-winning rapper Coolio died on Wednesday after being found unresponsive at a friend’s Los Angeles home, the New York Times reported. He was 59.

Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was best known for his 1995 single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” from an album of the same name.

That song, a massive hit featured in the film Dangerous Minds, won a Grammy Award for best rap solo performance the following year.

The rapper died at about 5 p.m. pacific time (8 p.m. EDT) at a local hospital, his manager Jarez Posey told the publication. Posey told the paper that Ivey had earlier been found unresponsive in the bathroom of a friend’s home.

There were no immediate reports on the cause of death.

Ivey, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1963, began performing as part of the West Coast hip-hop scene after moving to Compton, California.

He released his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” in 1994, scoring a Top Ten hit with the single “Lakeside.” JB

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