Rapper Coolio died from fentanyl overdose, manager says

[April 07, 2023]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Grammy-winning rapper Coolio died from a fentanyl overdose, his manager said on Thursday, six months after the musician was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles at age 59.

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., Coolio 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.

Coolio's manager, Jarez Posey, said the rapper's family had been informed on Thursday by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office that the singer had died from a fentanyl overdose.

The coroner's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Posey said the rapper's children planned to honor their father in future documentary and film projects.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1963, Coolio 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."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Sandra Maler)

(Photo: 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. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo)

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