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Coolio’s cause of death has been revealed.
A Los Angeles coroner’s autopsy disclosed that the “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper died from an accidental Fentanyl overdose. Heroin and methamphetamines were also found in the 59-year-old performer’s system.
The autopsy listed recent phencyclidine use as another thing that contributed to Coolio’s death, according to PEOPLE’s observations of the report. The Department of Justice classifies phencyclidine, or PCP, as a hallucinogen. The white powder drug has dissociative and mind-altering effects.
In addition to his asthma, cardiomyopathy was also listed as a contributing factor in Coolio’s passing. The latter condition is a disease that makes it difficult for the heart’s muscles to pump blood to the rest of the body. While there are several types of the disease — dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive — Coolio’s wasn’t specified in his autopsy.
The news comes months after Coolio’s passing Sept. 28, 2022.
Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., the rapper was unresponsive when authorities got to him. Despite 45 minutes of resuscitation attempts, Coolio was pronounced dead “just before 5:00 p.m.” local time. The rapper was at his friend and longtime manager Jarel (Jarez) Posey’s Los Angeles home when he transitioned.
Police found drugs and related paraphernalia among Coolio’s belongings, Page Six recently reported. Authorities recovered “a baggy with a brown powdery substance, foil with burn residue, a straw/tube, saline solution [and] a spoon with residue.”
Posey shared the news of Coolio’s cause of death with TMZ and updated the outlet about the rapper’s loved ones. He revealed that Coolio’s family wanted the world to know that the rapper was loved and a conqueror both on and off the stage.
Coolio contributed to hip-hop and pop culture through his music and many pursuits in the entertainment industry. Over his career, the rapper released eight studio albums. In addition, his song “Gangsta’s Paradise” won the Best Rap Solo Performance award at the 1996 Grammys.
The rapper starred in his own reality TV show, Coolio Rules, for Oxygen in 2008. In the following two years, he competed in Celebrity Big Brother and Ultimate Big Brother.
Simon & Schuster released his cookbook of 76 recipes, Cookin’ With Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price, in 2009.
The musician regularly performed up until his passing, having played a show for the I Love The ’90s tour days before he died.
Many of the rapper’s loved ones wore “Coolio Forever” t-shirts to his funeral in Pasadena, California Oct. 15, according to The U.S. Sun.
Read how fans reacted to the rapper’s death below.
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