Rapper Coolio dead at 59

The rapper Coolio died at the age of 59 in Los Angeles, his manager has confirmed.

Report informs, citing The Guardian, that the artist, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, passed away at a friend’s house, his longtime manager, Jarez Posey, told the Associated Press and other outlets including TMZ, Rolling Stone and Variety.

A cause of death was not confirmed, and a Guardian request to his manager for a comment was not immediately returned.

Coolio is best known for his 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise, for which he won a Grammy for best solo rap performance. The runaway hit came from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film Dangerous Minds and sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song Pastime Paradise.