Michelle Pfeiffer leads tributes to rap legend Coolio

The death of 'Gangsta's Paradise' rapper Coolio has rocked the music and entertainment industry. Dozens of A-list stars have taken to social media to honour the Grammy Award-winner. 

Coolio died at the age of 59 on Wednesday. His cause of death is believed to be cardiac arrest. 

Michelle Pfeiffer, who starred with the rapper in the 1995 classic, 'Dangerous Minds', says she is heartbroken to hear of the passing of the gifted artist.

"A life cut entirely too short. As some of you may know I was lucky enough to work with him on Dangerous Minds in 1995. He won a Grammy for his brilliant song on the soundtrack - which I think was the reason our film saw so much 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 wrote on Instagram.

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Snoop Dogg, who featured on Coolio's comeback album - 'The Return of the Gangsta', also paid tribute to the 'C U When You Get There' hitmaker.

"Gangstas paradise. R. I. P.," Snoop captioned a picture of the two stars. 

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Rapper and actor, Ice Cube, described Coolio's death as "sad news". 

"I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace @Coolio," he wrote.  'U Can't Touch This' rapper MC Hammer also paid tribute to Coolio. 

"One of the nicest dudes I’ve known. Good people. R.I.P. Coolio," he tweeted. 

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Coolio's smash hit, 'Gangsta's Paradise', reached one-billion views on YouTube in July. The song, which was released in 1995, was added to the video sharing platform in 2017. 

"And it’s about to hit a billion on @spotify too... Thank you, everyone. I love y'all till the casket drop," he wrote on Instagram. 

Coolio's fans supported him throughout his career. He appeared in dozens of shows in America and Europe in 2022. 

He performed at a music festival in Stockholm, Sweden, in July. Coolio also visited Spain, France, Germany, Denmark and Ireland.  

The rapper visited Ireland on numerous occasions for both work and personal reasons. He was reportedly a regular customer at Ernesto's Cafe in Dublin. 

The cafe's owner, Jonathan Smith, shared a video of Coolio during one of his visits.to Ireland. 

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Coolio was also booked for festivals in Germany, Norway, and Belgium in 2022.  His last post on Instagram was a video taken during one of his recent performances. 

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Main image credit: Instagram/@michellepfeifferofficial