The rapper Coolio has died at 59 || Coolio

Coolio's manager said the rapper died Wednesday at the age of 59.

 Coolio died at a friend's house in Los Angeles, his manager told The Associated Press.

It wasn't immediately clear what the cause was.

Coolio won a Grammy for best solo rap performance for "Gangsta's Paradise," the 1995 hit from the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer film "Dangerous Minds" that sampled Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise" and was played constantly on MTV.The height of his popularity came in 1996, when a fierce feud between the hip-hop communities of the two coasts resulted in the deaths of two artists.

Soon after.

Coolio was mostly above the conflict.

He said from the stage that he wanted to claim the award on behalf of the whole hip-hop nation, West Coast, East Coast, and worldwide.

 Coolio was born in Pennsylvania and moved to California.

 He was sent to Northern California by his mother because she thought the city was too dangerous.

He said in interviews that he started rapping at 15 and knew by 18 it was what he wanted to do with his life, but would go to community college and work as a volunteer firefighter and in airport security before devoting himself full-time to the hip-hop scene. His debut album, "It Takes a Thief", was released on Tommy Boy Records in 1994.

The opening track would reach the top.

 3 on the Hot 100.

 A year later, Gangsta's Paradise became a No.

There is a single with dark 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."

Reactions to the death on social media lit up.

 Ice Cube said this was sad news.

I have witnessed this man's grind to the top of the industry.

Coolio, please rest in peace.

There is a picture of the two men hugging.

 Coolio said in an interview that he wasn't cool with the parody of Gangsta's Paradise.

The two made peace after that.

The rapper would never again have a song nearly as big as "Gangsta's Paradise," but had subsequent hits with 1996's "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" (1996), and 1997's "C U When U Get There." His career album sales totaled over five million, with over one hundred million on-demand streams of his songs.

 He would be nominated for six awards.

And with his distinctive persona he would become a cultural staple, acting occasionally, starring in a reality show about parenting called "Coolio's Rules," providing a voice for an episode of the animated show "Gravity Falls" and providing the theme music for the Nickelodeon sitcom "Kenan & Kel." He had a 1998 conviction in Germany for punching a boutique shop owner when she tried to stop him from taking merchandise without paying.

 He was fined $30,000.