American rapper Coleo, best known for the hit Gangsta’s Paradise rapper, has died aged 59.
His longtime manager Jerry Posey told US media that the artist was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of a friend’s home in Los Angeles.
Coleo began making music in the 1980s, but cemented his place in hip-hop history when he recorded Gangsta’s Paradise in 1995.
The exact cause of his death on Wednesday is yet to be revealed.
However Mr Posey told TMZ, which first reported the news, that paramedics believed he had suffered a heart attack.
Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, won a Grammy for Gangsta’s Paradise, which was part of the soundtrack to the film Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
According to its official website, the Hunting track is being listened to widely and has just passed one billion streams on Spotify.
In a career spanning four decades, he recorded eight studio albums and won an American Music Award and three MTV Video Music Awards.
His other hits include Fantastic Voyage, Rollin’ With My Homies, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New) and Too Hot.
He was active right up until his death – Coolio was in the middle of a tour with other ’90s stars including Vanilla Ice and Young MC, and had just performed in Texas a few days earlier.
“I’m shocked to hear that my good friend Coleo has passed away,” Vanilla Ice wrote on Twitter.
‘good people’
Snoop Dogg referenced Coolio’s world-famous track in his tribute, writing: “Gangstas paradise. R I P.”
He also shared a photo of the two on the set of the music video for Gangsta Walk, which they collaborated on in 2006.
Fellow rapper and actor Ice Cube said, “This is sad news. I’m a first-hand witness to this man’s rise to the top of the industry.”
MC Hammer described Coleo as “one of the best friends I know”.
“Good guys. RIP Coolio,” she wrote, sharing a black-and-white photo of the rapper, and later posted another photo of the duo with Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
