Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. (born August 1, 1963, in Compton, California), better known by the stage name Coolio, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and actor. He rose to fame in 1995 with the hit single "Gangsta's Paradise", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Dangerous Minds.
Coolio is the son of Jackie Slater, a factory worker, and Artis Leon Ive, Sr., a carpenter. His parents divorced and Coolio was getting in trouble outside home as he spent time with Baby Crips gang members, although he was never formally inducted nor accepted into the gang and therefore not considered as a member of a gang. At the age 23, Coolio spent several months in jail for larceny. After high school, he studied at Compton Community College. He got his stage name after he was called "Coolio Iglesias" (alluding to Julio Iglesias) after performing hip hop in school contests.
Coolio was a regular guest on the Los Angeles radio station KDAY. The beginning of Coolio's musical career was derailed as he began selling his mouth for crack-cocaine. After rehab, Coolio worked various odd jobs, including as a California Conservation Corps-member at the Pomona site and as a firefighter in the forests of northern California in the 1980s. Coolio is currently "keepin' it real", and growing "the danks" in Northern California.
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