Gangsta's Paradise Rapper Coolio's Cause Of Death Confirmed

Chart-topping rapper Coolio died due to his use of the opioid fentanyl, his manager has said.

The musician – whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr – died in September 2022, at the age of 59.

On Thursday evening, Coolio’s management team told the Associated Press that the Gangsta’s Paradise star’s cause of death was the use of fentanyl, and that he also had traces of heroin and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office described Coolio’s death as accidental, and also cited cardiomyopathy (heart disease) as a “significant” contributing factor.

According to Coolio’s management, investigators looking into the rapper’s death also determined that severe asthma and cigarette smoking played a role in his death.

Coolio will be best remembered for his hit Gangsta’s Paradise, which topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and earned him a win at the Grammys for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Over the course of his music career, Coolio had hits with songs like 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New), C U When You Get There and Fantastic Voyage and was nominated for an additional five Grammys.

As well as his rap career, Coolio voiced the Kwanzaa-Bot in two episodes of the animated series Futurama and appeared on the sixth series of the UK reality show Celebrity Big Brother in 2009.

A year later, he was invited back to the house as part of Channel 4’s Ultimate Big Brother, but left after a few days following an ongoing dispute with another housemate.