The rapper tallied three top 10s on the Hot 100 and two on the Billboard 200, and sparked a “Weird Al” Yankovic parody hit.
Coolio infused Billboard‘s charts with multiple hits in the 1990s, with his biggest, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” continuing to reach rankings today.
As previously reported, the rapper, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died Wednesday (Sept. 28) in Los Angeles at age 59.
Coolio placed six hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, including the No. 1 smash “Gangsta’s Paradise,” featuring L.V, from the film Dangerous Minds. The single spent three weeks atop the list in 1995 and finished as the year-end No. 1 Hot 100 hit. The track would go on to win the Billboard Music Award for single of the year, as well as a Grammy Award for best rap solo performance.
To date, “Gangsta’s Paradise” ranks among the top 100 titles on Billboard‘s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs chart.
Coolio’s other five Hot 100 hits also all reached the top 40, including his breakthrough single, “Fantastic Voyage,” which reached No. 3 in 1994. He scored a third top 10 with “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New),” which climbed to No. 5 in 1996.
On the Billboard 200 albums chart, Coolio notched a trio of entries, including two top 10s: It Takes a Thief (No. 8 in 1994) and Gangsta’s Paradise (No. 9, 1996).
Coolio additionally collected six top 10s during his lifetime on the Hot Rap Songs chart, with “Gangsta’s Paradise” having reigned for 11 weeks.
The song has drawn 1.7 billion in radio airplay audience and 763.1 million official streams and sold 1.9 million downloads in the U.S. (through Sept. 22), according to Luminate.
“Gangsta’s Paradise,” meanwhile, became the subject of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody ode “Amish Paradise,” which hit No. 53 on the Hot 100 in 1996.
The legacy of Coolio’s signature hit remains apparent, as “Gangsta’s Paradise” has logged 72 and 62 weeks, respectively, on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and Billboard Global 200 charts, ranking at Nos. 151 and 149 on the latest, Oct. 1-dated tallies, reflecting streaming and sales activity in the Sept. 16-22 tracking week.
Gains for Coolio’s catalog following his passing will be reflected on next week’s Billboard charts dated Oct. 8, encompassing activity in the Sept. 23-29 tracking week.
