More Than Six Months After His Untimely Death, We Finally Have A Cause Of Death For Coolio

On September 28, 2022, the world was forced to say goodbye to a very talented hip-hop artist in Coolio – born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. His death was unexpected, to say the least, and occurred while the rapper was at a friend’s house in LA. At one point during his visit, Coolio went to the bathroom but never returned.

His friend called out for Coolio several times but didn’t receive a response. As concern grew, the friend went to the bathroom to check on him and that’s when they found him lying on the floor. Paramedics were called for a medical emergency and Coolio was pronounced dead almost immediately upon their arrival.

More Than Six Months After His Untimely Death, We Finally Have a Cause of Death for Coolio

Coolio was just 59 years old at the time of his death. A cause of death wasn’t revealed at the time, but law enforcement saw no signs of foul play, and no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.

Fans have eagerly been waiting for a cause of death for the past six months – we finally have an answer.

However, despite the original report, according to the official coroner’s report that was just released, Coolio died of an overdose and had traces of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

The report added that asthma, cigarette use, phencyclidine use, and cardiomyopathy unspecified also contributed to the rapper’s death back in September.

Jarel (Jarez) Posey, a family spokesperson, confirmed the cause of death on Thursday. He added that his children – including Brandi, Jackie, Melan, Christopher, Artis III, Darius, and Artisha – are remembering their father as ‘the great man he was’ and that they loved him dearly for the impact he had on the world.

His family is also planning on honoring his life and legacy in music with a series of documentaries and films – though specifics have yet to be revealed. The family also created a headstone – despite his body being cremated – so they had a physical place to pay their respects.

It’s in an unspecified location in LA.

The headstone is black and has his full name at the top with several pictures of Coolio centered in the middle. It also contains a blue star with ‘Coolio’ on it that resembles a Hollywood Walk of Fame star and reads ‘I’m Home Now in Gangsta’s Paradise’ at the bottom – a nod to his hit song ‘Gangsta’s Paradise.’

Many Stars Pay Their Tributes to Coolio

Following his death, many friends and colleagues took to social media and other outlets to pay their respects for a life well-lived – including Coolio’s good friend Vanilla Ice. “This guy was positive all the time. He spread a lot of positive love out there and always smiling,” Ice said to TMZ in a two-minute-long video.

“For me, he’s an uplifting person,” he continued – adding that they often sat and talked about their kids and how proud they were of them. “He’s an awesome dude, man, he’s a good friend. … He’s gonna be missed,” he added – confirming that he decided to cancel his performances to mourn Coolio’s death.

Michelle Pfeiffer, who worked with Coolio in Dangerous Minds (1995) and appeared in the ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ music video, shared a heartfelt message for Coolio on Instagram. The song was added to the film’s soundtrack and Pfeiffer starred as LouAnne Johnson. She was ‘heartbroken’ over the loss.

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“A life cut entirely too short,” she wrote – attributing his song as one of the reasons why the film was a success. “I remember him being nothing but gracious. 30 years later I still get chills when I hear the song. Sending love and light to his family. Rest in Power, Artis Leon Ivey Jr. ❤️” she continued in the caption.