US rapper Artis Leon Ivey Jr. popularly known as Coolio, known for the iconic hit Gangsta’s Paradise, died at the age of 59.
The rapper was discovered unconscious on the toilet floor of a friend’s home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager Jarez Posey, who spoke to US media.
The exact cause of his death on Wednesday has not yet been revealed. However, Posey told TMZ, which first reported the news, that paramedics believed he may have had a cardiac arrest.
Coolio started making music in the 1980s, but he cemented his place in hip hop history when he recorded Gangsta’s Paradise in 1995.
He won a Grammy for Gangsta’s Paradise, which was part of the soundtrack for the movie Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
The track continues to be widely listened to and has just passed a billion streams on Spotify, according to his official website. Snippets of the song are used worldwide for internet videos and memes.
Read also: Depression, anxiety cost world economy $1trn
Over a career spanning four decades he recorded eight studio albums and won an American Music Award and three MTV Video Music Awards.
Up until the time of his passing, Coolio was still performing; just a few days prior, they had a show in Texas while on tour with other 90s musicians like Vanilla Ice and Young MC.
“I’m freaking out I just heard my good friend Coolio passed away,” Vanilla Ice wrote on Twitter.
Snoop Dogg referenced Coolio’s world-famous track in his own tribute, writing: “Gangstas paradise. R I P.”
He also shared a picture of the two posing on the set of the music video for Gangsta Walk, a track they collaborated on in 2006.
“This is sad news. I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry,” fellow rapper and actor Ice Cube said.
MC Hammer described Coolio as “one of the nicest dudes I’ve known”.
“Good people. RIP Coolio,” he wrote, sharing a black and white picture of the rapper, and later posting a second picture of the pair together, along with Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
