Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise

Old-school hip-hop, which builds its sing-song raps atop samples of old funk and soul singles, may be on the way out, but in its twilight days it has yielded one more brilliant album, Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise. Coolio, the Compton rapper once known as Artis Ivey, creates tape loops of the catchiest sections from old songs by Smokey Robinson, the Isley Brothers, Billy Paul, and Herbie Hancock, and then raps his ghetto slice-of-life stories atop those loops. It's a familiar formula, but Coolio makes it fresh again, coming up with monologues strong enough to make us forget the original songs and get lost in his narratives. Moreover, Coolio drops his rhymes so they fall perfectly on the beats and even the melodies of the samples. --Geoffrey Himes Amazon.com

The Highlight Of Coolio's Career (Rating: 7 out of 10- -3.5 stars)

Back in late 1995, Coolio had his most popular single "Gangsta's Paradise" floating all through the airwaves. I must have been about 10 years old, and managed to learn that song in under an hour (almost 13 years later, I can barely remember any of the words). Coolio wasn't really the greatest rapper from the west coast, but the single "Gangsta's Paradise" was the jump that he needed to place himself to where he wanted to be in the rap game.

True, when you think of his name, that single pops up, but there was just more than that single that made him a good rapper. In fact a lot of the tracks bang, as Coolio talks mostly about the streets of L.A. "Ghetto Highlites" is a song how he talks about life in the ghetto. "Too Hot" is a great song about people being burned while not using protection using the Kool And The Gang song. Then he has some bouncy tracks like "1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New)" which does sound a little cheesy but to me it's good.

Guest appearances are good though. I like "Crusin" featuring Malika. E-40, Kam, and Coolio's group 40 Thevez colab for "Exercize Yo Game". And W.C., 40 Thevez, Shorty, and Ras Kass, appear on "Get Up, Get Down". All dope songs. My favorite song on this album would be Coolio colabing with Will Wheaton on the song "Bright As The Sun".

Although good album, it flaws heavily. I personally think this album has too many recognizable interpolations, which makes the song sounds so cheesy. A perfect example would be "A Thing Going On", uses the chorus to "Me and Mrs. Jones". "Kinda High and Drunk" is another bad song.

Gangsta's Paradise is a very good album. It was one of the biggest highlight albums in late '95 carried over to '96. Unfortunately back then this album was played into the ground, and people were tired of Coolio (which might explain why his next album My Soul didn't sell like he wanted to). I wouldn't necessarly call Coolio a gangsta rapper. He just happened to be from the west and blew up when gangsta rap was at it's peak. This album here is great and is being sold for a penny, and it's well worth your purchase. Peace.

Lyrics: B
Production: B
Guest Appearances: A-
Musical Vibes: B+

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Bright As The Sun (featuring Will Wheaton)
2. Gangsta's Paradise (featuring L.V.)
3. Get Up, Get Down (featuring 40 Thevz, Shorty, Ras Kass, and W.C.)
4. Exercize Yo Game (featuring E-40, Kam, and 40 Thevz)
5. Crusin' (featuring Malika)

Honorable Mention:
1. Too Hot
2. 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New) March 7, 2008

Nice, Fun 2nd Album by Coolio

Coolio came out again in 1995 with the hit "Gangsta's Paradise" on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. He then released his second album taking the same name. This album has some special meaning for me. It was only the second rap album I bought ever. The album is a fun pop-mainstream-style album full of great production and beats, and some nice rhymes by Coolio. Beatwise, the album is full of that Cali G-Funk courtesy of "Wino," Vic C, and many lesser-known producers, way too many to list here. "Gangsta's Paradise" is obviously a hit, but there are many other classics here too. "Is This Me" is hella twangy feat. Rated R from Thug Life discussing the hold the streets take on people who get caught up in that life. Coolio shows some love and respect for the women on "For My Sistas." "Sumpin' New" is just a plain good time at the club over a bouncy P-Funk sampled type beat, as fun as "Fantastic Voyage" from 1994. "Get Up Get Down" features longtime homie WC and homegirl Malika. The beat is smooth and swingin. "The Revolution" is hot with a bouncy lowrider beat dealing with social issues. "Bright As The Sun" is a track where the imagery brings up a helicopter (ghetto bird) has its bright lights searching for him over a woozy, twangy beat. I love "Exercise Yo' Game" with Coolio trading spits with Kam, E-40, and 40 Thevz, which has an oddball, but phat beat. I love the hooter and licqor joint "Kinda High Kinda Drunk" with another odd but tight beat. Coolio has some positive messages in many tracks. He has fun, but he also can bring up some serious, often sad, imagery on tracks like "Geto Highlites" which is basically what it is, runs like a news report in parts of the songs. The album brings back memories of growing up for me. I see many hating on the album for being too pop, but I disagree, it is a nice album regardless. June 22, 2007

Great CD but watch out for expurgated version

I bought a used copy of this CD. I thought it was very good except I got a version with all the "adult language" bleeped out! It was very frustrating and completely ruined most of the songs. I haven't listened to it since. Make sure you get the "Explicit Lyrics" version of this CD if you get it! February 3, 2007

If it's sooooo good how come it's selling right now used for 1¢ ?

Because suckers by it, quickly get bored by it, then try to sell it.

Except there are more suckers than buyers.

Gangsta indeed. Only an idiot thinks gangsta's are good at making music.

OK the dumbos who disagree can now press the "not helpful" button, and the smart people can, at least, consider what I've written. November 29, 2006

A pretty good rap album which sounds unfortunately cheesy in spots - rap fans will still like it

Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" is most well-known for having the hit single of the same name, and even though that's obviously the best track here, the rest of it holds up pretty well. Some of the songs are bad, yes (see "Kinda High Kinda Drunk"), but there's enough good and decent ones here to warrant a "4" star rating (the amount of songs here help things out, too). Coolio is indeed one of the most unique rappers in the business - at least when it comes to his voice. I admittedly don't have a great amount of knowledge in terms of MCs, but I still haven't heard anyone who sounds like Coolio. While his voice and delivery are pretty good, it unfortunately sounds a bit pop-oriented when the lyrics are discussing the gangster life (again, see the title track). This isn't a horrible problem, but it's noticable - he doesn't quite seem to fit in with what he's rapping about. Musically the album is pretty much based on Dr. Dre's g-funk sound, and the production is pretty good, if not a little dated sounding - I don't think it'll cause any problems. Basically, if you like rap or if you liked his hit "Gangsta's Paradise" and wanted to hear more Coolio songs then "Gangsta's Paradise" will satisfy you, just not greatly. Recommended.

Highlights include:
"That's How It Is"
"Gangsta's Paradise"
"A Thing Goin' On"
the rest are mostly good or decent January 16, 2006

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