Coolio
Speaking of cool, let’s talk about the greatest thing of 1995: “Gangsta’s Paradise”. The song, which was part of Coolio’s album of the same name, was also featured on the fabulous Dangerous Minds soundtrack. The track features not only some of the greatest lyrics of all time, but also samples from the chorus of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise.” It stole the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, held onto it for three weeks, and became the top selling single of the year for all genres. “Gangsta’s Paradise” pretty much ruled the world– it was the number one track in not only the US, but also Sweden, France, Italy, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and a handful of other European countries. The single has been certified triple platinum in the U.S., and remains one of the most popular singles of all time in terms of sales. And, of course, he won a Grammy.
We also know him for a few other popular singles, including “C U When U Get There”, “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)”, and “Fantastic Voyage”. The kids of the nineties will remember that he rapped the theme song on the Kids Choice Award-winning TV show Kenan & Kel. To sum it up: Coolio was, well, cool.
After a less successful third album, he was dropped from Tommy Boy Records. None of his records since 2000, the last of which was released in 2009, have made it onto any Billboard chart, but don’t feel too bad for him. Much like Vanilla Ice, Coolio found a new talent in an area none of us would have anticipated: cooking.
The legendary rapper of the nineties apparently neglected to mention he was quite the cook, because he has gone on to become a chef with his own cooking show. Cookin’ with Coolio is a web show which spun off from his earlier reality TV show, Coolio’s Rules. The show, which is mostly cooking instruction, is produced by Dead Crow Pictures and serves primarily as a promotion for his cookbook of the same name. His dishes aren’t the most refined, and they’re certainly not gourmet– if you’re a diehard Food Network fan who knows the names of every different type of knife, it’s not for you. Coolio now refers to himself as “the ghetto Martha Stewart,” which is a hell of a title for the nineties legend who wrote “Gangsta’s Paradise”. We can’t say we saw this one coming.
