Rapper Coolio died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 59.
The musician, whose full name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., found incredible success with the Grammy Award-winning song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and through his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” released in 1994 and which featured the song “Fantastic Voyage.”
Los Angeles Police Department officials confirmed to Fox News Digital that they were investigating the death of a male adult, which was reported at 4 p.m. on “the 2900 block of Chesapeake Avenue.”
“The individual that died and the cause of death will be done by the coroner’s office,” a LAPD public information officer said.
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Ice Cube, a South Los Angeles native and music icon, tweeted a somber tribute upon learning of Coolio’s death.
“This is sad news,” he wrote. “I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace Coolio.”
Questlove shared a photo of the artist on Instagram and wrote, “Peaceful Journey Brother.”
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Coolio was nominated for six total Grammys during a career that began in the late-1980s.
He was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh, and moved to Compton where he worked as a volunteer firefighter and in airport security before pursuing his passion in music.
Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” sold 6 million copies and won the Best Solo Rap Performance Grammy in 1996 after it was featured in Michelle Pfeiffer’s 1995 film “Dangerous Minds.”
The No. 1 single featured the opening lyrics, “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s not much left, ‘cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long, that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
