Coolio Mourned as Tributes for Rapper Pour in: 'A Fantastic Voyage, Indeed'

Fans and celebrities have posted tributes to social media for Coolio, a Grammy-winning rapper who passed away at 59 years old.

The death of Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was confirmed to Variety on Wednesday by his longtime manager Jarel Posey, who said the performer died around 5 p.m. local time. He was found by paramedics at a friend's house, according to TMZ, but a cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

Coolio was best known for his 1995 single, "Gansta's Paradise," which in addition to achieving triple platinum status with the RIAA after its inclusion on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack also reached over 1 billion streams on Spotify. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks upon its release, according to Variety, and was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

Coolio first made a name for himself as a rapper in 1994 with the release of his debut album, It Takes a Thief. The album's lead single, "Fantastic Voyage," hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year, according to Rolling Stone.

News of the rapper's death online led to public mourning and a celebration of his legacy.

Rapper and actor Ice Cube tweeted, "This is sad news. I witness firsthand this man's grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace @Coolio."

Actor and comedian Martin Lawrence responded to the news on Twitter, sending his "deepest condolences and prayers go out to the family of @Coolio."

Coolio was still an active name on the nationwide touring circuit, including last Thursday at The Great Frederick Fair in Frederick, Maryland, alongside several other popular rappers from the 1990s like Vanilla Ice and Tone Loc.

Journalist Carolyn Hinds reposted a video of Coolio performing his hit single last week at the fairgrounds, commenting "I'm glad [Coolio] knew people still cared about him and his music."

The New York-based online publication Consequence also posted a video of a recent Coolio performance on Twitter, showing the rapper playing at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois, which took place between September 16-18 at Douglass Park.

Other fans shared stories about the beloved rapper on social media, including Andrew Barber, who runs Chicago hip-hop blog Fake Shore Drive. Barber tweeted the rapper's "music brought a lot of joy to a lot of people," concluding that the artist led a "fantastic voyage, indeed."

Nolan King, an MMA journalist, posted a YouTube video showing Coolio performing an acoustic version of "Gangsta's Paradise" with several University of Central Lancashire students in 2013. According to the video's description, Coolio had performed at a club near the U.K. campus the night before the video and had agreed to meet at the student's house.

"Never forget the time a bunch of college kids ran into Coolio and invited him over," wrote King. "He not only showed up, but made them a three course meal and performed an acoustic Gangsta's Paradise. Legend."