Coolio’s longtime manager, Jarez Posey, has confirmed to TMZ and Rolling Stone that the rapper has died at age 59. The Grammy Award winner (born Artis Leon Ivey Jr.) was visiting a friend on Wednesday, September 28, when he suddenly passed away.
Posey revealed to TMZ that Coolio’s friend grew concerned when the rapper was indisposed for an extended period of time and didn’t respond to his name being called, when he eventually went and found Coolio unresponsive. An ambulance was called and EMTs pronounced the rapper dead on the scene. Posey said the paramedics suspect Coolio went into cardiac arrest, though an official cause of death has yet to be determined.
Coolio, perhaps best known for his 1995 Grammy-Award winning single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” released eight solo studio albums between 1994 and 2009, and also appeared on the big screen in 1997’s Batman & Robin opposite George Clooney, Get Over It with Kirsten Dunst in 2001, and Ben Affleck‘s 2003 Daredevil movie. He also made memorable appearances on television shows including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Nanny, Charmed and Teachers.
Coolio was married to Josefa Salinas from 1996 to 2000. They shared four kids, daughters Artisha, Brandi, Jackie and son Artis, who co-starred with him on the 2008 reality series Coolio’s Rules.
Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com