The 59-year-old West Coast legend was found dead on September 28, 2022 after excusing himself to go to the bathroom when visiting a friend's house in Los Angeles.
- Apr 7, 2023
AceShowbiz - The cause of the death of Coolio has finally been revealed. More than months after he passed away at the age of 59, the "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper was unveiled to have died from a fentanyl overdose.
His family's spokesperson, Jarel "Jarez" Posey, told TMZ that Coolio had traces of heroin and methamphetamines in his system. According to Jarez, investigators determined the late emcee's "severe asthma" combined with the long-term use of cigarettes also contributed to his death.
Despite the difficult news, Coolio's children still remembered their father's greatness. Brandi, Jackie, Melan, Christopher, Artis III, Darius and Artisha reportedly "plans to honor their dad through documentaries and film ... and continue the legacy that was his music."
Coolio was found dead on September 28. The West Coast legend was visiting a friend's house in Los Angeles later that day when he excused himself to go to the bathroom. Then, when he didn't come after a while, the friend kept calling for him.
The friend eventually went in and found Coolio laying on the floor. The friend called EMTs, but when they arrived, it's apparently too late as they pronounced the rapper dead on the scene.
Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., came up on the L.A. rap scene in the late 1980s, but only rose to fame in 1995 after the release of "Gangsta's Paradise", which was featured in the movie "Dangerous Minds". He's also best known for his singles "Fantastic Voyage" (1994), "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" (1996) and "C U When U Get There" (1997).
Last year, the Monessen-born artist made his return to music with an official comeback single entitled "Out Fa The Bag", his first track since re-signing with Tommy Boy Records. Just several days before his death, he took to Instagram to post a video of his latest performance in Texas.
