Gangsta's Paradise
1995 single by Coolio featuring L.V.
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Key Takeaways
- " Gangsta's Paradise " is a single by American rapper Coolio, released on August 1, 1995, by Tommy Boy, Warner Bros.
- Interpolating Stevie Wonder's song "Pastime Paradise" (1976), "Gangsta's Paradise" features vocals from American singer L.
- Certified Platinum in October, the song was included on Coolio's second album, Gangsta's Paradise , in November 1995.
- The song is taken from Pfeiffer's movie Dangerous Minds , and the music video is also themed around the movie.
- In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".
"Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio, released on August 1, 1995, by Tommy Boy, Warner Bros. and MCA Records. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's song "Pastime Paradise" (1976), "Gangsta's Paradise" features vocals from American singer L.V., who served as a co-composer and co-lyricist with Coolio and Doug Rasheed, with Wonder also being credited for the composition and lyrics. Certified Platinum in October, the song was included on Coolio's second album, Gangsta's Paradise, in November 1995. Its music video was directed by Antoine Fuqua and featured Michelle Pfeiffer. The song is taken from Pfeiffer's movie Dangerous Minds, and the music video is also themed around the movie.
The song was the top-selling single of 1995 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first rap single ever to go straight to number one in Britain. In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". NME listed the song at number 100 in their ranking of "100 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2012 and Billboard magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023. Coolio was awarded a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video and Best Video from a Film and a Billboard Music Award for the song. The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.
The song has sold over five million copies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Coolio performed this song live at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards with L.V. and Wonder, and at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards with L.V.
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