Artis Leon Ivey, Jr., better known by his stage name Coolio, was an American Grammy Award-winning actor, musician, rapper, record producer, and chef. He was best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit single "Gangsta's Paradise" in the album of the same name.
For Disney, he provided the voice of Wax Coolio in the Gravity Falls episode "Headhunters". He also guest-starred on Muppets Tonight in Episode 205, alongside Don Rickles, in which he performed his song "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)". Additionally, he played Dion Brothers in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn and Scott Felvmern in Dangerous Minds, the latter of which he composed the song "Gangsta's Paradise".
His song "Fantastic Voyage" was featured in Kazaam.
Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. was born in 1963 in Monessen, Pennsylvania, and raised mostly in Compton. His mother was a factory worker who divorced his carpenter father and moved to Compton when Ivey was eight years old. Severely asthmatic, Ivey was a regular visitor to his local library as a boy. He started rapping as a teenager, eventually earning the nickname "Coolio Iglesias", after Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, which was later shortened to "Coolio". He was arrested for taking a weapon to school and served prison time for larceny. As Compton declined in the 1980s, Coolio became addicted to crack cocaine, but quit drugs after spending time living with his father in San Jose. After attending Compton Community College, he worked in jobs, such as volunteer firefighting and security at Los Angeles International Airport, before becoming a rapper.
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