1963-2022 Farewell to 'Gangsta's Paradise' Rapper Coolio

The hip-hop star rose to fame with his 1995 smash hit, neither replicating-nor tiring of-its success in later years

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With his signature braids and hit song considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop anthem of the 1990s, Coolio, who died of a suspected heart attack in Los Angeles on Sept. 28 at age 59, was the perfect embodiment of his stage name. "He was a real cool guy," says his longtime friend Doug Rasheed, cowriter and producer of "Gangsta's Paradise." "Serious but, at the same time, the kind of guy who was going to have you laughing."