The entertainment world is mourning the loss of rapper-turned-actor Artis Leon Ivey Jr., aka Coolio, who passed away at the age of 59 on Wednesday, September 28th. The news of Coolio’s passing was confirmed by his manager in a statement to TMZ, which reports that Coolio was found unconscious on the bathroom floor of a friend’s home, with EMTs arriving and pronouncing him dead on the scene. A cause of death has not been confirmed at this time. In addition to his prolific career as a rapper, including his 1995 smash hit “Gangsta’s Paradise”, Coolio developed a reputation for making scene-stealing appearances on movies and television shows — including several in the genre space.
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Let’s look back at some of Coolio’s most memorable roles in the superhero and horror spaces.
Kenan & Kel
For a generation of fans, Coolio might be best known for “Aw, Here It Goes!”, the opening theme song for Nickelodeon’s Kenan & Kel, which ran on the network from 1996-2000. The beloved song has endured — and gotten stuck in plenty of fans’ heads — in the decades that have followed.
Space Jam
Kenan & Kel isn’t the only bit of 1990s iconography that Coolio has contributed to, as he was featured on the song “Hit ‘Em High” on the soundtrack to 1996’s Space Jam. The song featured Coolio, B-Real, Method Man, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes.
Batman & Robin
Coolio makes a brief performance in 1997’s Batman & Robin, as a banker overseeing a street race attended by Barbara Gordon / Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone). As Coolio himself revealed decades later, his character was actually supposed to be Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow, and would have properly debuted as the villain of the film’s sequel, which ultimately never came to fruition.
Leprechaun in the Hood
2000’s Leprechaun in the Hood has held an infamous place in horror history, as it took the Leprechaun series into the world of underground rap. Coolio briefly appeared in the film as himself, marking just one of many memorable cameos he would have in the genre world.
Daredevil
Thanks to the extended director’s cut of 2003’s Daredevil, Coolio remains a part of Marvel history. Coolio appeared as Dante Jackson, a man who Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) represents in a murder trial in court, in the longer (and as many will argue, superior) version of the film.
Futurama
Beginning in Season 3, Coolio voiced Kwanzaabot, one of Futurama‘s several Holiday-Bots. His scene-stealing performance as the character popped up in two episodes of the show, as well as the Bender’s Big Score tie-in movie.
Static Shock
Another memorable animated appearance from Coolio came in DC’s beloved Static Shock animated series. Coolio voiced Marvin Roper / Replikon, a villain with shapeshifting powers, in the Season 2 episode “Duped.”
Gravity Falls
One of Coolio’s more recent memorable cameos was in the 2012 Gravity Falls episode “Headhunters”. While Coolio had cameoed as himself across an array of projects, Gravity Falls took things a step further by having him voice a wax figure version of himself.
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Our thoughts are with Coolio’s family, friends, and fans at this time. May he rest in peace.
