Coolio was one of the first rappers to balance pop accessibility with gritty, street-level subject matter and language. Yet despite his nods to hardcore, his music was clearly more happy-go-lucky at heart; he shared the West Coast scene's love of laid-back '70s funk, and that attitude translated to his music far more often than Dr. Dre's Death Row/G-funk axis.
Most of Coolio's hits were exuberant, good-time party anthems (save for his moody signature song "Gangsta's Paradise"), and he created a goofy, ingratiating persona in the videos that supported them. He was also popular with younger audiences and became a favorite on Nickelodeon comedy shows thanks to the thin, spidery dreadlocks that stuck straight out of his head in all directions. In the process,
Coolio took the sound of West Coast hip-hop to wider audiences than ever before, including those put off by -- or too young for -- the rougher aspects of G-funk. A combination of inactivity, legal troubles, and newly emerging rap stars stole Coolio's thunder in the late '90s, but by that point he'd helped lay the groundwork for an explosion of hardcore-themed pop-rap (most notably Puff Daddy's Bad Boy empire), and played an underappreciated role in making hip-hop the mainstream pop music of choice for a new generation.
The Return Of The Gangsta
Release Date: August 23rd, 2006
1. Intro
2. Let It Go
3. Gangsta Walk
4. Do It
5. Drop Something
6. Bloops
7. Make Money
8. Lady & Gangsta
9. Daddy's Song
10. One More Night
11. Loosemobile
12. Dip It
13. Keep on Dancing
14. 187% WRPM
15. Keep It Gangsta
16. They Don't Know
17. West Coast Anthem
18. Outro
19. Gangsta Walk [P Money Remix]
El Cool Magnifico
Release Date: 2002
1. What Is an MC?
2. Shake It Up
3. Cadillac Vogues
4. Show Me Love
5. I Like Girls
6. Ghetto Square Dance
7. Would You Still Be Mine
8. Sunshine
9. Hear Me Now
10. Island Hop
11. Like This
12. Skirrrt
13. Knock Out Kings
14. Gangbangers
15. Pop Yo Collar
My Soul
Release Date: 1997
1 Intro 0:26
2 2 Minutes & 21 Seconds Of Funk 2:26
3 One Mo 3:44
4 The Devil Is Dope 4:13
5 Hit 'em 4:22
6 Knight Fall 4:10
7 Ooh La La 4:05
8 Can U Dig It 3:44
9 Nature Of The Business 4:45
10 Homeboy 4:08
11 Throwndown 2000 3:53
12 Can I Get Down 1x 3:45
13 Interlude 1:00
14 My Soul 4:14
15 Let's Do It 4:32
16 C U When U Get There 5:10
Gangsta's Paradise
Release Date: 1995
1 That's How It Is 1:00
2 Geto Highlites 4:59
3 Gangsta's Paradise 4:01
4 Too Hot 3:39
5 Cruisin' 4:35
6 Exercise Yo' Game 4:47
7 Sumpin' New 3:33
8 Smilin' 4:10
9 Fucc Coolio 0:48
10 Kinda High Kinda Drunk 3:44
11 For My Sistas 4:27
12 Is This Me? 4:26
13 A Thing Goin' Down 4:45
14 Bright as the Sun 4:42
15 Recoup This 1:20
16 The Revolution 3:48
17 Get Up Get Down 5:31
It Takes a Thief
Release Date: 1994
1 Fantastic Voyage 5:35
2 County Line 2:57
3 Mama I'm in Love Wit a Gangsta 4:10
4 Hand on My Nutsac 3:29
5 Ghetto Cartoon 3:13
6 Smokin' Stix 3:20
7 Can-O-Corn 3:41
8 U Know Hoo! 3:52
9 It Takes a Thief 5:07
10 Bring Back Somethin Fo da Hood 3:13
11 N da Closet 3:51
12 On My Way to Harlem 3:13
13 Sticky Fingers 2:59
14 Thought You Knew 3:19
15 Ugly Bitches 4:07
16 I Remember 4:48
