The rap world is in mourning after the shock death of Coolio aged just 59.
Gangsta's Paradise star Coolio - real name Artis Leon Ivey Jr - died on Wednesday from a suspected cardiac arrest, although no official cause of death has been announced as yet.
The star's longtime manager, Jarez, said the alarm was raised when Coolio went to the bathroom and didn't return while visiting friends in Los Angeles
Jarex told TMZ how a panicked pal tried to call the rapper, but when that didn't work, he went into the bathroom and found the father-of-10 collapsed on the floor. He was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.
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Coolio had battled a chronic illness for most of his life, almost dying several times.
Diagnosed with asthma when he was just a child, the condition landed in him hospital on numerous occasions.
In 2016 he struggled through an impromptu five-song set at Hill Country Barbecue Market in Brooklyn due to his breathing, but was able to get through it by puffing on a fan's inhaler.
"Coolio was having problems with his asthma, but someone from the audience provided him with their inhaler that he used between verses of Gangsta's Paradise , and his other songs," an eyewitness told Page Six.
"I had a few episodes with asthma where I was in serious trouble and could have died," Coolio told USA Today in 2002.
Explaining how he struggled at times to keep his illness under control, he said: "I still played sports, but I would just have attacks and have to be hospitalised every now and then.
"It's still a balancing act.
"You have to know your medications and you have to take them, but it can be a real challenge - especially in school.
"I had to realise I had a chronic disease which needs to be treated for as long as necessary."
According to the charity Asthma+Lung UK, 4.5 million people have the condition in the UK - one in 12 adults, one in 11 children - and five per cent will develop severe asthma.
It causes the airways into the lungs to become narrowed and inflamed resulting in symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, feeling breathless or a tight chest.
Four people die a day because of asthma attacks, although two-thirds of those are preventable, according to the charity.
Because asthma is caused by inflammation, some studies have linked it to an increase risk of heart attacks.
Inhalers are free in the UK, but before finding fame, Coolio struggled to find the cash to get the life-saving treatment he needed in the US.
"I didn't have any insurance and the bills I was accruing at county hospitals were really adding up.
"Plus the medications cost money, so I couldn't keep up with my medical needs."
Things came to a head when he suffered a serious attack that rendered him unconscious.
He continued: "I had a bad cold, and I had coughing fits, one so bad that I passed out on the bathroom floor.
"I woke up later and tried to walk four blocks to the hospital because I knew I didn't have the ability to drive. Every three feet or so I hung onto a fence or light pole, trying to regain some strength.
"Thankfully, someone saw the trouble I was having and stopped and gave me a ride to the hospital because I'm not sure I could have made it."
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