The American rapper Coolio, who became known in the 1990s with the hit "Gangsta's Paradise", is dead. According to his manager Jarez Posey, he died in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon (local time), the broadcaster CNN reported.

Posey said the musician collapsed at a friend's house, according to TMZ.com.

The Grammy Award winner was 59 years old.

The rapper's death sparked consternation in the music community.

"Peaceful journey brother," wrote drummer and rap musician Questlove on Instagram.

This is "sad news," the rapper Ice Cube posted on Twitter.

He himself witnessed Coolio's rise to the top of the industry.

Coolio started his career in Compton, California, a borough of Los Angeles that hosts a number of big West Coast rappers like Dr.

Dre or Ice Cube spawned.

The musician landed a number one hit in 1995 with "Gangsta's Paradise".

The song, which was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Dangerous Minds, earned him a Grammy.

Coolio also had success with tracks like "Fantastic Voyage" and "I Remember".

He has also appeared in TV series and films such as Batman & Robin and Dracula 3000.

Coolio was born on August 1, 1963 under the real name Artis Leon Ivey jr.

in Compton.

The Los Angeles neighborhood was ruled by gang crime.

Drugs and music were part of everyday life.

Young Coolio has been making music since he was twelve.

After his alleged exit from a gang (at the age of 15), music became his purpose in life.

He was particularly fascinated by rap.

He overcame his cocaine addiction and found solid jobs.

Before his musical breakthrough, he worked as a firefighter.

However, Coolio later ran into trouble with the law for illegal drug and gun possession.

He was also on trial in Germany in 1998.

At that time he was sentenced to six months probation and a fine for being an accessory to robbery and assault.

Coolio established himself as a musician in the early 1990s.

He recorded his first record with his friend DJ Bryan Wino Dobbs in 1993.

The first single ("County Line") was followed in 1994 by the first album.

It Takes A Thief sold more than a million copies.

The single "Fantastic Voyage" rose to number three in the charts.

This established Coolio in the rap scene.

A play by Stevie Wonder

His lyrics, unlike some others in rap, are less violent or misogynistic.

Coolio was based on the funk of the seventies, including Stevie Wonder.

In his hit "Gangsta's Paradise" Coolio used a sample of the Stevie Wonder track "Pastime Paradise", which hardly anyone had noticed.

However, the song has now become the title hit of the Michelle Pfeiffer film "Dangerous Minds" and has sold 17 million copies worldwide.

Coolio received a Grammy for his reinterpretation of the song in 1996.

In Germany, the song made it to number 1 in the charts, it was the first rap song to do so.