COOLIO
Gangstas Paradise
«Gangsta’s Paradise» is a song by American rapper Coolio, featuring American singer L.V. The song was released on Coolio’s second album of the same name (1995), as well as the soundtrack for the 1995 film Dangerous Minds. It interpolates Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song «Pastime Paradise».
The song was listed at number 85 on Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time and was the number one biggest-selling single of 1995 on U.S. Billboard. 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. 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/album. The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics’ poll.
Track information
- Released September 20, 1995
- Recorded 1994–1995
- Genre Hip hopgangsta rapG-funk[1][2]
- Label Tommy BoyWarner Bros.MCA
- Composer(s) Stevie Wonder, Artis Ivey, Jr.
Larry SandersDoug Rasheed
Background and writing
The artists co-wrote the song with their producer Doug Rasheed, with Stevie Wonder receiving writing credits for the sampling of his song «Pastime Paradise» from his album Songs in the Key of Life.
The song begins with a line from Psalm 23:4: «As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death», but then diverges with: «I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.» Adding to some of the religious overtones are choral vocals in the background. Coolio freestyled the first couple of lines, with the rest of the lyrics coming to him quickly in one sitting. He would later claim that the song ultimately came from a source outside himself, saying, «‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ wanted to be born; it wanted to come to life, and it chose me as the vessel.»
Due to the sampling of Stevie Wonder’s music, «Gangsta’s Paradise» is one of the few Coolio tracks that does not contain any profanity, as Wonder didn’t appreciate his song being paired with profanity. Coolio said, «I had a few vulgarities…and he wasn’t with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible.» This song is written in the key of C minor.
Chart performance
The single reached number one in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, making it Coolio’s most successful single. In Australia, the song stayed at No. 1 for 14 weeks, a record that would be broken 22 years later by Ed Sheeran’s «Shape of You». Following Coolio’s appearance on Celebrity Big Brother 6, it re-entered the UK singles chart peaking at No. 31. In the United Kingdom, «Gangsta’s Paradise» is the first rap single to sell over a million copies.
In the United States, the single spent twelve weeks in the top two of the Billboard Hot 100, of which three were spent at No. 1 and nine at No. 2, putting «Gangsta’s Paradise» in joint fourth place for the most weeks spent at No. 2 by a single in the chart’s history. The song was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on February 23, 1996, indicating 3 million copies sold. It has sold a further 1.8 million downloads in the US in the digital era as of September 2017.
Did you know?
Having grown up in Compton, California, Coolio could certainly relate to the gangsta lifestyle (so could the song’s co-writer Larry Sanders, who survived a shooting), but he says that the song is not about him, but about the kids portrayed in Dangerous Minds who feel they don’t have control of their lives.
This won the Grammy in 1995 for Best Rap Solo Performance.
Coolio’s first hit came a year earlier with «Fantastic Voyage,» a party jam that made #3 in the US. His record company, MCA, was hoping he would stay in that groove and release more upbeat songs – when they heard the brooding «Gangsta’s Paradise» they were afraid it would alienate his fans.
The song first appeared on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, and when it became the basis for the movie’s marketing campaign – heard in trailers and commercials for the film – MCA knew they had a hit on their hands. The song was released as a single, going to #1 in both the US and UK, and included on Coolio’s second album, which was titled after the song.
