If you were alive, or better yet, fortunate enough to grow up in the ’90s, you know the words to ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, the 1995 smash single from West Coast rapper Coolio, off his album of the same name and the soundtrack to the film Dangerous Minds.
The song’s combination of an earworm beat with its siren-like string stabs, Coolio’s husky, deadpan rapping style, and a chorus that reinterprets Stevie Wonder’s classic 1976 song ‘Pastime Paradise‘ made it the number one biggest selling single of 1995.
It also made a global star of its maker, who’d previously achieved success with the 1994 G-funk number ‘Fantastic Voyage‘. But the immense success of ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ was somewhat short-lived and would not be repeated. It remains an iconic piece of ’90s pop culture, as does Coolio.
That might explain why a recently surfaced video of the rapper, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, has exploded on the internet. In the clip, Coolio raps his timeless signature tune as he rides the Surfers Paradise Sling Shot.
The clip is reminiscent of another popular video featuring Coolio’s peer DMX riding a Sling Shot in Orlando, but unlike Coolio, DMX didn’t have the good sense to rap ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’ as he was catapulted into the air alongside an unidentified stranger.
The video was originally uploaded to YouTube back in mid-2014, but remained relatively unnoticed until it was shared on reddit. The views quickly went into the thousands and everyone who watched it immediately began asking questions.
For one thing, what was Coolio doing in Surfers Paradise? Who’s the girl next to him? And most of all, why did he begin rapping ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ as the ride took off? Well, we’ve managed to find a couple of answers.
After sharing the video on the Tone Deaf Facebook page, where it amassed more than 160k views, almost 2,000 comments, and more than 2,000 likes, we were contacted by a woman named Misty-Rose Wilson, who wanted us to send her a copy of the video with her and Coolio.
According to Ms Wilson, she’d met the rapper in Melbourne a few years back when he was on tour in Australia and the two ended up dating. “He took me on the rest of his tour and then went back to Vegas. We still Skype every now and then,” she tells Tone Deaf.
“Apparently, the Melbourne native had never seen the footage of her and the ’90s star on the Sling Shot, because Coolio wouldn’t pay for a copy the video.”Apparently, the Melbourne native had never seen the footage of her and the ’90s star on the Sling Shot, because Coolio wouldn’t pay the Sling Shot vendors for a copy the video. According to Ms Wilson, she has fond memories of her time with Coolio.
“He was on tour in Melbourne playing a gig with his cousin Jarel Posey — an amazing saxophone player — at Brown Alley, which a close friend of mine owns,” she tells Tone Deaf. “We were both celebrating our birthdays on the night we met and ended up spending the evening together and all the next day.”
“He cooked for me, a chef-quality lunch which was really yummy and we just spent the day getting to know each other. He flew to Sydney that arvo then flew me up to meet him on the Gold Coast two days later.”
“He is a really funny guy and people just gravitate towards him,” Wilson says of the rapper. “We spent a lot of time shopping and eating, and he was always happy to have a laugh with fans or stop for some pictures.”
“He’s a very interesting person to be in the presence of. We spent lots of time singing together. He loved music and it’s a huge means of expression for him… he’s very genuine and I really had an amazing time with him.”
So what’s the story behind the video? “We were walking past the Sling Shot and I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I annoyed him until he agreed to go on it with me,” says Wilson. “I just said I’m doing it with or without you.”
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“He was not frightened at all. Artis has a very interesting life story and had an interesting childhood. He’s built unique survival skills from his experiences. He made the most of it.” But what about why he started rapping? Was he concerned he might die and wanted his signature tune to be his swan song?
“I never actually asked why he started rapping [laughs] but just before we jumped on the ride he told me to go along with him,” Wilson says. “We had been singing all afternoon in the hotel room, on trams, and walking through the city, so I suppose it was bound to happen on video eventually.”
“I’m sure he also wanted to show he had no fear. Stone face son!” You can check out the incredible footage of Wilson on the Sling Shot with Coolio below.
