the encyclopedic entry of Coolio

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Biography

Early life

Coolio is the son of Jackie Ivey, a factory worker, and Artis Leon Ivey, Sr., a carpenter. His parents divorced and Coolio was getting in trouble outside home as he spent time with Baby Crips gang members, although he was never formally inducted nor accepted into the gang and therefore not considered as a member of a gang.

At the age 17, Coolio spent several months in jail for larceny. After high school, he studied at Compton Community College. He got his stage name after he was called "Coolio Iglesias" after performing hip hop in school contests.

Coolio was regular guest in Los Angeles radio station KDAY. Coolio's beginning of musical career was derailed as he developed a crack cocaine addiction. After rehab, Coolio worked various odd jobs, including as a California Conservation Corps-member at the Pomona site and as a firefighter in the forests of northern California in 1980's.

Recording career

Coolio started his career as a member of the rap group, WC and the Maad Circle, which included WC, Sir Jinx and DJ Crazy Toones. He left the group, and in 1994 released his debut album It Takes a Thief. The album was a success, reaching the top 10 of the pop charts (#8 on the Billboard Hot 200) . The album featured the singles "Fantastic Voyage" and "I Remember," which featured J-Ro and Tash of Tha Alkaholiks. "Fantastic Voyage" was a hit single, peaking at #2 on the Hot Rap Singles, and being ranked one of the top 5 songs of the year by Rolling Stone magazine, Spin magazine, and Village Voice.

In 1995 Coolio released his second album, Gangsta's Paradise, which is his most successful album to date. It went quadruple-platinum fueled by the title track, a song that also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Dangerous Minds, and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also contained another major hit, "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" that peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1997 Coolio released his third album, My Soul. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 200, a large commercial dropoff from his first two albums. It contained one charting single, "C U When U Get There", a cover of Johann Pachelbel's classic song "Canon & Gigue in D", which peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. His next two albums, El Cool Magnifico (2002), and The Return of the Gangsta (2006), had little success and failed to chart. Coolio's recordings also appeared on the soundtracks to Clueless (1995) and Dangerous Minds (1995). In 2005, he co-hosted the MOBO awards in the UK.

Television

Coolio performed the theme song for the 1996 TV show Kenan and Kel, entitled "Awww Here It Goes", in front of the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Park in New York City Coolio also was in a movie in 2000 called Gangland. He also starred in an episode of The Nanny, as well as in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

In 2001, he was a special guest on Beat the Geeks. In 2002 Coolio guest starred in the hit series Charmed, as a Lazarus demon, in the episode Marry Go Round. He played himself in the episode Coolio Runnings of the animated comedy Duckman. He also voiced Kwanzaa-bot, a character featured in the "A Tale of Two Santas" episode of Futurama. In fact, according to the DVD commentary, the producers of Futurama were so impressed by his range of voices, that they said he could do voice-over work professionally. Coolio reprised the character for the direct-to-DVD feature Bender's Big Score.

In 2002, Coolio was a contestant on Celebrity Fear Factor. During the third round, he referred to himself as "El Cool Magnifico" (which would become the title of his fourth studio album). That same year, he appeared on Celebrity Bootcamp and won. Coolio starred in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Dracula 3000, in which he played a space-faring stoner named 187, and the feature film Exposed, in which he played a rapper named "Bigg Heat". Coolio played the role of US Navy sailor Franky in the 2004 Croatian film A Wonderful Night in Split. In 2004 he participated in the German Comeback Show where he finished as third behind Chris Norman and Benjamin Boyce. He made another television movie appearance in 2005 as a military officer in the horror film Pterodactyl. That year, he also appeared in Joey on the episode "Joey and the Poker."

In 2006, Coolio appeared in the "Tanner's Ghost" episode of the Celebrity Paranormal Project.

In 2008, Coolio is hosting an online cooking show (or video podcast), Cookin' with Coolio, for the website and network My Damn Channel. He says he is trying to make "black food" healthier and more affordable for poor people (Newsweek). He says he "likes Bobby Flay and Rachel Ray".

Coolio appeared at the DMU night in Life perfomaning several songs in October 2008.

Pop culture references

His song "Gangsta's Paradise" was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Amish Paradise" in 1996. Coolio did not take kindly to the parody initially due to claims that he did not sign off on it (Yankovic's agent claimed Coolio's agent did). He did receive royalties, however. Coolio has since forgiven Al, even signing autographs with him at an electronics show.
In the Twisted Metal 2 game for the PlayStation gaming console, he was in a billboard in the game.
In the television show 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan states that the Black Crusaders wanted him to disappear "just like Coolio" to which Liz Lemon responds "Coolio's still around".
Commenting on the criminal record of Ol' Dirty Bastard, Chris Rock asserts in his 1999 spoken word song, "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)", that "ODB couldn't've possibly committed all those crimes. Coolio did some of that shit."
Ska punk band Patent Pending mentions Coolio in their song "The Website Is Under Construction," singing "Where the hell is Coolio tonight?"
Band Andrew Vincent and the Pirates mention Coolio in their song 'Girlfriend's Dog', singing "She calls him Frank, but I've been calling him Coolio"
In the song "Go To Church" from Ice Cube's "Laugh Now, Cry Later" album, rapper Snoop Dogg mentions Coolio.
In an episode of Futurama, what appears to be Coolio's face is shown on a coin.
In the children's computer game DinoPark Tycoon Coolio appears in the crowd of guests at the player's Dino Park.
In the UK TV series Benidorm, the character Chantelle names her baby Coolio.
In Irish award-winning television soap opera Fair city, the character Sarah Malloy often refers to her childhood crush on Coolio and what would have happened if she had pursued her dream of moving to California in order to meet him. The Colm and Jim Jim Breakfast Show on RTE Radio 2FM regularly claims with tongue in cheek that Coolio is dead. It also claims that director Ang Lee is a woman.
In the 1995 film "Clueless" directed by Amy Heckerling, Coolio's song Rollin' With the Homies is featured and mentioned in several key scenes.

Personal life

Coolio has six children but is separated from his wife. He is currently living with the ex-wife of close friend, David Faustino.

In the early morning of June 10, 2008 Coolio was taken into custody after being pulled over by police in Hollywood. He was arrested for an outstanding warrant related to a 2001 suspended license incident and released on $10,000 bail.

Coolio and jazz saxophonist Jarez were recently enlisted as spokespersons by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change to educate students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) about global warming.

Discography

Awards

1994 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Rap Video. "Fantastic Voyage"
1995 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Fantastic Voyage"
1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single Sales Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
1996 : American Music Award Win for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist.
1996 : Grammy Award Win for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Gangsta's Paradise"
1996 : Grammy Award Nomination for Record of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Rap Video. "Gangsta's Paradise"
1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Video from a Film . "Gangsta's Paradise"
1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Dance Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
1996 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Male Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
1997 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. "Stomp"
1998 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Performance. "C U When U Get There"