NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Rapper Coolio poses for a portrait at the SiriusXM Studios on September 10, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)
Coolio balances the Grammy he won for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 38th annual Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 1996. Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” has died. Manager Jarez Posey tells The Associated Press that Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died at the Los Angeles home of a friend on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. He was 59. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
Coolio (L) winner of best International hip hop act performing with Missy Missdemeanor Elliott, The 1997 MOBO Awards, New Connaught Rooms, London, 10th November 1997. (Photo by JM Enternational/Getty Images)
Rapper Coolio reacts for photographers after winning the award for favorite Rap-Hip Hop artist at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles Monday, Jan. 29, 1996. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Stevie Wonder, left, and Coolio perform at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1995. Coolio won for single of the year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
U.S. rapper Coolio, right, poses with his wife after he performed the traditional "Flight of the Angel" hanging from a cable tied from the bell tower to a St. Mark's square filled to capacity, in Venice, northern Italy, Sunday, Jan.27, 2008. During this centuries-old rite which marks the official beginning of Venice's Carnival celebrations, Coolio scattered paper confetti on spectators below. The week-long carnival festivities in the historical lagoon city attracts people from around the world. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 16: Musician Coolio (L) and Celebrity Chef Rachael Ray attend the Blue Moon Burger Bash presented by Pat LaFrieda Meats hosted by Rachael Ray - Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE at Pier 92 on October 16, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
Coolio performs on stage during Riot Fest 2022 at Douglass Park on September 18, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 31: Rapper/actor Coolio and his granddaughter Arya Ivey perform at halftime of a game between the Connecticut Sun and the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on May 31, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Rapper Coolio performs during the halftime of Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers basketball game at Staples Center on January 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 22: Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, NSync's Joey Fatone, singer/actor Coolio, Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men and Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean pose for a photo during rehearsal at the Venetian Resort on August 22, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage)
Coolio appeared on Episode 106 of "Recipe for Deception: Celebrity Edition"
(Photo by: Nicole Wilder/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
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(KTLA) – Los Angeles rapper Coolio, one of hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s, died Wednesday at age 59, according to his manager.
The Grammy-winning artist, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., passed away at the home of a friend, longtime manager Jarez Posey told the Associated Press. His cause of death was not immediately clear, but TMZ reported that medics on the scene identified cardiac arrest as the likely cause.
Coolio’s first two albums, “It Takes a Thief” and “Gangsta’s Paradise,” catapulted the artist to stardom in the mid-’90s. The latter album produced an hit single of the same name, which sold over five million copies and earned Coolio a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1996.
The rapper continued to perform up until his passing, and had last taken the stage only days ago, according to his Instagram page.
Following his death, friends and collaborators paid homage to the West-Coast rapper on social media, with Ice Cube and Weird Al Yankovic, among others, offering their condolences.
