The hidden story behind ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, Coolio’s hit that made him a rap legend with Michelle Pfeiffer’s movie | Music | Entertainment

american rapper Artis Leon Ivey Jr., better known as Coolio, died Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 59.. The Grammy Award winner rose to fame for the song Gangsta’s Paradisefrom the movie soundtrack Dangerous Minds (nineteen ninety five).

Thanks to that single and the album of the same name, Coolio developed a wide-ranging career that included three more top 40 hits and two songs on the soundtrack of spacejam (nineteen ninety six).

the simple Gangsta’s Paradise, released on August 1, 1995, it sold some eight million copies worldwide, and was number one in the US, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

The song won a Grammy, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award; Furthermore, it was included in the number 85 on Billboard’s Top Songs of All Time.

Michelle Pfieffer, leading lady in Dangerous Minds, indicated that, in his opinion, Coolio’s song was the “reason why the film was so successful” and that he still gets “chills” every time he hears it. She also appeared in the music video for the song.

The single was a perfect fit for Pfieffer’s tape, who interprets LouAnne Johnson, a ex-Marine turned teacher at Parkmont College in Californiawhich tries to connect with its students through unconventional teaching.

The base of the song is a samples (sample) of Pastime Paradisepiece of Songs in the Key of Lifealbum that Steve Wonder launched on the market on September 28, 1976. Curiously, Coolio died on the same day, 46 years later.

Larry Sanders known as LV, rapper from Los Angeles and former member of South Central Cartel, was the one who proposed to Coolio to be inspired by Wonder’s theme to record Gangsta’s Paradise. The rappers teamed up and recorded the final version alongside producer Doug Rasheed.

Wonder, who was credited as co-author of Gangsta’s Paradise, did not want offensive or obscene lyrics, so the rappers wrote a respectful theme. “The first version had some vulgarities… and he didn’t like them. So I modified the lyrics, and when Stevie heard the changes, thought the song was amazing”, Coolio recounted on one occasion.

Pastime Paradise of Wonder was very unique, having his main riff inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Prelude number 2 in C minor’, while the final part has a nod to the gospel hymn ‘We shall overcome’, recorded on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, by sound engineer Gary Olazabal, who took advantage of some Hare Krishna They were singing there.

Also, Wonder for his theme emulated a string section with a Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer, a very advanced and unusual device for the time. “That part is recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra,” said the artist when asked about that particular fragment.

In this way, Coolio had much to draw on to compose his Gangsta’s Paradise. But it was the lyrics that he had to work on the most to match Wonder. He pre-recorded some verses before finally locking himself in the studio to finish his piece..

The rapper looked into his complicated teenage life to compose the popular song. The first verses of Gangsta’s Paradise They are inspired by the beginning of Psalm 23:4. “I like to believe it was divine intervention” when I wrote the song, Coolio told the magazine. Rolling Stone.

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left” (“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I look at my life and realize there’s nothing left”) indicates the topic.

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Stevie Wonder was delighted with the theme and even he saw it as a way to reach new generations. Such was her emotion that she joined Coolio and LV on stage to perform it together in the 1995 Billboard Music Awards gala.

Coolio _whose cause of death is unknown, although he is presumed to have suffered cardiac arrest_ tHe also appeared in several film productionsincluding the ill-fated batman and robin (1997), starring George Clooney. (AND)