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91ƵGangsta91Ƶs Paradise91Ƶ rapper Coolio dies at age 59, says manager

Artist won a Grammy for best solo rap performance in 1995

Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop91Ƶs biggest names of the 1990s with hits including 91ƵGangsta91Ƶs Paradise91Ƶ and 91ƵFantastic Voyage,91Ƶ 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 91ƵGangsta91Ƶs Paradise,91Ƶ the 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film 91ƵDangerous Minds91Ƶ that sampled Stevie Wonder91Ƶs 1976 song 91ƵPastime Paradise.91Ƶ

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

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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, 91ƵIt Takes a Thief.91Ƶ It91Ƶs opening track, 91ƵFantastic Voyage,91Ƶ would reach No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A year later, 91ƵGangsta91Ƶs Paradise91Ƶ would become a No. 1 single, with its dark opening lyrics:

91ƵAs I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there91Ƶs not much left, 91Ƶcause I91Ƶve been blastin91Ƶ and laughin91Ƶ so long, that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.91Ƶ

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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