Coolio faced intense battles with poverty and drug addiction before becoming an international star with his 90s hit Gangsta's Paradise.
The rapper came to the world's attention with the song - which featured on the iconic soundtrack to Dangerous Minds - and he achieved years of success before he was tragically found dead aged 59 on Wednesday.
Coolio died from a suspected cardiac arrest, his manager revealed, after a pal found him laying unresponsive on their bathroom floor.
The musician, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Compton, California. He started out as a studious kid before searching for ways to better fit in at school.
Coolio said it was extremely difficult to avoid falling victim to his environment, with poverty and violence prevalent in Compton.
"If you don't join them, you get beat by them," he told Double J.
After his parents divorced when he was 11 years old, Coolio wound up being involved with the Baby Crips, a subgroup of one of America's most violent street gangs the Crips.
Here, he developed menacing behaviour to better assert himself, according to a biography by Steve Huey. Coolio started bringing weapons to school, ruining his once-promising academic career.
After moving to Compton Community College, Coolio started to perform at local rap contests where he gained some notoriety.
It was at these contests that someone called him Coolio Iglesias, and the name stuck.
The rapper then became a regular on Los Angeles rap radio station KDAY and released his first single Watcha Gonna Do. His first shot at fame was sadly short-lived, however, after he developed a serious drug problem.
Coolio checked himself into rehab for crack cocaine addiction.
He then worked as a volunteer firefighter before devoting himself full-time to the hip-hop scene.
Coolio released his debut album, It Takes a Thief, in 1994. The track Fantastic Voyage launched the album to a Top Ten spot and past the platinum sales mark.
Coolio was celebrated by listeners for taking a more light-hearted approach to a genre dominated by a West Coast gangsta sound.
Just one year later Coolio released his most successful song to date, Gangsta's Paradise. The hit provided a haunting critique of gangster life.
The album Gangsta's Paradise went triple platinum, eventually earning a Grammy for Best Solo Rap Performance.
However, the success was short-lived and his third album barely scraped the Top 40 charts, with Coolio once again falling into bad habits.
In 1997, Coolio and seven of his friends were arrested for allegedly shoplifting at a German clothing store. The German government sentenced him to six months of probation and gave him a $17,000 fine.
The following summer, Coolio was arrested again for driving on the wrong side of the road. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a small amount of marijuana.
Despite facing setbacks, Coolio became a cultural icon, continuing to release music and appear on television on multiple occasions.
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