Grammy-winning rapper Coolio dies at 59

Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr, was best known for his 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise, from an album of the same name.

That song, a massive hit featured in the film Dangerous Minds, won a Grammy Award for best rap solo performance the following year.

The rapper died at about 5 pm pacific time (8 pm EDT) at a local hospital, his manager Jarez Posey told the Times. Posey told the paper that Ivey had earlier been found unresponsive in the bathroom of a friend’s home.

There were no immediate reports on the cause of death.

Ivey, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1963, 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, kn 1994, scoring a Top Ten hit with the single Lakeside.