Stars including Michelle Pfeiffer and Snoop Dogg have been paying tribute to rapper Coolio, who has died.
The Grammy-award-winning Coolio was found unresponsive at a friend's Los Angeles home on Wednesday, the New York Times reported.
Born as Artis Leon Ivey Jr., the 59-year-old was best known for his 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise from an album of the same name.
The moerse treffer – featured in the film Dangerous Minds – won a Grammy Award for best rap solo performance the following year.
The C U When You Get There rapper died at about 2am SA time at a local hospital, his manager Jarez Posey told the Times.
Posey said Ivey had earlier been found unresponsive in the bathroom of a friend’s home.
Jarez told TMZ that paramedics suspected he suffered cardiac arrest.
Law enforcement sources said no drugs or drug-using goetes were found at the scene.
An autopsy and toxicology test will reportedly be used to determine an official cause of death.
Police did say they have opened a death investigation, “but as of right now there does not appear to be signs of foul play”.
Ivey, who was born in Pennsylvania, began performing as part of the West Coast hip-hop scene after moving to Compton, California.
He released his debut album It Takes a Thief in 1994, scoring a top-10 hit with the single Lakeside.
“Heartbroken to hear of the passing of the gifted artist Coolio,” Pfeiffer wrote on Instagram, sharing a clip from the famous music video, which sees her sitting across the table from Coolio as he raps.
“A life cut entirely too short,” she continued. “I remember him being nothing but gracious.”
Snoop referenced the track while sharing a picture of himself and Coolio posing on the set of the music video for Gangsta Walk, a track they collaborated on in 2006.
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