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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I got sumpin brand new fo dat ass (The Coolio appreciation post)

Posted by Scott

Coolio performed the other day at Diesel, a rock club on the South Side of Pittsburgh. The Gangsta's Paradise era is back! Sadly, I did not get to attend.

Coolio is a joke now, but he ruled the late '90s. I've always loved rappers who have a sense of humor. It's rare to see in that genre (I'm a fan of Ludacris and Snoop Dogg for the same reason.) My favorite Coolio moment is the video for "1,2,3,4," when he rides the tricycle. Either that, or his unintentionally hilarious Grammy acceptance speech, when he thanked "my fiance Josephha, and my 7 kids."

Of course, "Gangsta's Paradise" is Coolio's signature song. It was insanely overplayed at the time, but it's one of the most important rap songs of the past 20 years. And I always liked "C U When U Get There," although it strikes me as schmaltzy now.

Fun fact: Coolio famously got mad at Weird Al for parodying him, but they've buried the hatchet.

I wrap up this meandering post with two videos: "1,2,3,4," and a bizarre performance of "Gangsta's Paradise" from 1995 with Simply Red. For reals?

YouTube: Coolio - "1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New)"



YouTube: Coolio & Simply Red - "Gangsta's Paradise"

3 comments:

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DJRainDog said...

I have SUCH fond memories of "1, 2, 3, 4..." -- in Paris, no less! Ah, the late 90s.

Scott said...

My memories of this song are from summer camp. Odd, I know...