---
title: "Grammy-winning rapper Coolio dies in Los Angeles at 59"
description: "LOS ANGELES, Sept 28 (Reuters) - 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."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Gangsta's Paradise"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-09-29-grammy-winning-rapper-coolio-dies-in-los-angeles-at-59/"
published: "2022-09-29T13:13:12"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 153
---

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

> LOS ANGELES, Sept 28 (Reuters) - 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.

By Reuters · Published 29 September 2022, 15:13 SAST

## Content

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 Times. 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."

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)