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Coolio
Coolio at US Army base in Bosnia (2002)
Background information
Birth name	Artis Leon Ivey, Jr.
Born	August 1, 1963 (age 43) Compton, California, United States
Genre(s)	West coast hip hop, Gangsta rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Instrument(s)	Voice
Years active	1991–present
Website	Coolio.com

Coolio (born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. on August 1, 1963 in Compton, California) is an American rapper and actor perhaps best known for the hit song "Gangsta's Paradise" from the Dangerous Minds (Soundtrack). Coolio also recorded the hit album "Set to Mind" with E-40, which reached number 32 in the U.K.

His album "Gangsta's Paradise" is considered by many to be a classic westcoast album, thanks to songs like "Exercise Yo Mind" and "Geto Highlites" that portray typical activities which occur in the Los Angeles area. He is considered by many as a influential part of Gangsta Rap .

Coolio guest starred in the hit series Charmed, as a Lazarus demon, in the episode Marry Go Round. He played himself in the episode Coolio Runnings of the animated comedy Duckman. He also voiced Kwanzaa-bot, a one-off character featured in the A Tale Of Two Santas episode of Futurama. In fact, according to the DVD commentary, the producers of Futurama were so impressed by his range of voices, that they said he could do voice-over work professionally.

Coolio starred in the made-for-TV movie Dracula 3000, in which he played a space-faring stoner named 187. He made another television movie appearance as a military officer in the horror film Pterodactyl.

He performed the themesong for the TV show Kenan and Kel, where he was featured in most of the song.

In 2001 he was a special guest on Beat the Geeks.

In 2002, Coolio was a contestant on Celebrity Fear Factor. During the third round, he referred to himself as "El Cool Magnifico" (which would become the title of his fourth studio album.) In the same year, he appeared on Celebrity Bootcamp and won. In 2006, Coolio appeared in the "Tanner's Ghost" episode of the Celebrity Paranormal Project.

Coolio also was in a movie called Gangland.

Coolio played a role of US Navy sailor Franky in 2004 Croatian film "Ta divna splitska noć" (Wonderful night in Split), film is dealing with drug scene of that coast town. IMDB link: [1]

• Coolio suffered from indecisiveness when it came to the titles of his first two albums. His debut, It Takes a Thief, was originally named 'N Da Closet, while Gangsta's Paradise was first titled Geto Highlites, the latter which Coolio confirmed on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps in June 1995, following the premiere of the Paradise video. However, it was later changed to capitalize on the immense success of the single prior to its November release.
• Coolio's recordings also appeared on the soundtracks to Clueless (1995) and New Jersey Drive (1995).
• Coolio came up with his name from his gang member newelio, but newelio got shot.To remember his lost soldier in battle he renamed himself coolio in remembrance of newel.
• In Twisted Metal 2 for the Playstation game system he was in a Billboard in the game.
• He recently Co-hosted the 2005 MOBO awards in the UK. The MOBO (an acronym for Music Of Black Origin) Awards, established in 1996 by Kanya King, are held annually in the UK to recognise artists of any race or nationality performing music of black origin.
• His song Gangsta's Paradise was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as Amish Paradise in 1996.
• Appeared in Joey TV Series in Season 2 on the episode Joey and the Poker
• Remains an active and key member of the Ford Foundation.
• Performed the theme song for the kids TV show, Kenan and Kel.

• In the movie She's the Man at the end of the bathroom scene in which Sebastian is reprimanded by Malcom for not wearing shower shoes, as Sebastian is leaving Paul calls him/her back and tells him he forgot his ace bandage by saying "you forgot this, Coolio".

• 1994 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Rap Video. "Fantastic Voyage"
• 1995 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Fantastic Voyage"
• 1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single Sales Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1995 : Billboard Music Award Win for Top Hot 100 Single of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : American Music Award Win for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist.
• 1996 : Grammy Award Win for Best Rap Solo Performance. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : Grammy Award Nomination for Record of the Year. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Rap Video. "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Video from a Film . "Gangsta's Paradise"
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Win for Best Dance Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
• 1996 : MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best Male Video. "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)")
• 1997 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. "Stomp"
• 1998 : Grammy Award Nomination for Best Rap Performance. "C U When U Get There"

• It Takes a Thief · (1994) Platinum - #67 UK
• Gangsta's Paradise · (1995) 3x Platinum - #18 UK
• My Soul · (1997) Gold - #28 UK
• Fantastic Voyage - The Greatest Hits. (2001)
• El Cool Magnifico · (2002) 333,940
• The Return of the Gangsta · (2006) 116,000

• Coolio official site
• Coolio videos on Yahoo! Music
• Coolio at the Internet Movie Database