Rapper Coolio has died at the age of 59. 

Best known for his hit 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise, the musician was visiting a friend’s house in Los Angeles when he apparently suffered a heart attack, his manager revealed. 

Coolio – real name Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. – launched onto the LA rap scene in the 1980s before finding international fame and winning the Best Solo Rap Performance Grammy for his iconic hit.

The song arrived a year after his US breakthrough Fantastic Voyage (No. 3) and topped the charts worldwide, becoming his best-selling single. 

He subsequently scored a string of chart hits including the UK Top 10s Too Hot, Hit ‘Em High (The Monstars’ Anthem) [with B-Real, Method Man, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes] and C U When U Get There (featuring 40 Thevz).

Following news of his passing, stars from around the world paid tribute, with Snoop Dogg penning, “Gangstas paradise. R I P,” alongside a snap of them on the set of the music video for their 2006 collaboration Gangsta Walk.

“I’m freaking out I just heard my good friend Coolio passed away,” said Vanilla Ice, while MC Hammer called him, “one of the nicest dudes I’ve known”.

“Good people. RIP Coolio,” he wrote.

In a post on the group’s Twitter page, Blondie’s Debbie Harry wrote: “Rest in power Coolio.”