Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise (ft. L.V.) (Audio, Lyrics, Video)

Throwback to the late Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” song produced by Doug Rasheed. The Antoine Fuqua-directed music video has over 1 billion streams.

Coolio Gangsta’s Paradise

The Hip Hop community is grieving yet another devastating loss with the passing of Coolio. On Wednesday (September 28), the West Coast legend was pronounced dead after his longtime manager, Jarez Posey, found him laid out on the bathroom floor of a friend’s home. He was 59.

Fans and friends of Coolio flooded social media with memories and kind words about the late the star and his culture shifting legacy.  He found success in the mid-1990s with three chart-topping albums, including 1995’s Gangsta’s Paradise. The video for GP goes down in history as one of the most prolific visuals of the gangsta rap era. It featured R&B singer L.V., as well as an appearance from Golden Globe-winning actress Michelle Pfeiffer. The Antoine Fuqua-directed visual has over 1 billion streams on Youtube.

Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise (ft. L.V.) (prod. Doug Rasheed)

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Lyrics

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there’s not much left
‘Cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long, that
Even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
But I ain’t never crossed a man that didn’t deserve it
Me be treated like a punk, you know that’s unheard of
You better watch how you’re talkin’, and where you’re walkin’
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip but I gotta loc
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I’m the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night, sayin’ prayers in the streetlight
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Look at the situation they got me facin’
I can’t live a normal life, I was raised by the street
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin’ got me chasin’ dreams
I’m an educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I’m a loc’d out gangsta set trippin’ banger
And my homies is down so don’t arouse my anger, fool
Death ain’t nothin’ but a heartbeat away
I’m livin’ life, do or die, what can I say
I’m 23 now, but will I live to see 24?
The way things is going, I don’t know
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Power and the money, money and the power
Minute after minute, hour after hour
Everybody’s runnin’, but half of them ain’t lookin’
It’s goin’ on in the kitchen, but I don’t know what’s cookin’
They say I gotta learn, but nobody’s here to teach me
If they can’t understand it, how can they reach me
I guess they can’t, I guess they won’t
I guess they front, that’s why I know my life is out of luck, fool
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?