(5 users)
Your Rating (Click a star below)
Total Rating
(6 users)
696,678
3,310,925
3D Track Thumb
Track Description
Available in:
"Gangsta's Paradise" is a song by American rapper Coolio, featuring singer L.V.. The song was released on Coolio's album Gangsta's Paradise, as well as the Dangerous Minds soundtrack in 1995. It samples the chorus and music of Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise".
The song was listed at number 69 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All-Time and number one biggest selling single of 1995 on U.S. Billboard. In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Coolio was awarded a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, two MTV Video Music Award's for Best Rap Video and for Best Video from a Film and a Billboard Music Award for the song/album. The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
The song has sold over 5 million copies in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Croatia alone, and at least 5.7 million worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Coolio has performed this song live at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards with L.V. and Wonder, at the 1996 Grammy Awards with L.V., and also with Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis.
The song samples Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", a song from his album Songs in the Key of Life. "Gangsta's Paradise" uses the same melody, but a different orchestration of the same music.
The song begins with a line from Psalm 23:4: "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death", but then diverges with: "I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left." Adding to some of the religious overtones are choral vocals in the background.
"Gangsta's Paradise" is one of the few Coolio tracks that does not feature profanity. According to Coolio, the lyrics initially did feature swearing, but Wonder did not approve of it: "I had a few vulgarities...and he wasn't with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible."
The music video for the song was directed by Antoine Fuqua of Propaganda Films, and featured Michelle Pfeiffer reprising her earlier role in Dangerous Minds.
When Coolio won the Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, he said in a press conference that Bone Thugs-n-Harmony deserved the award for "Tha Crossroads".
File Hashes
HASH1: 060C52A5A39BFC61
HASH2: 9AC08F6113958B8B (MP3)
Available in:
"Gangsta's Paradise" is a song by American rapper Coolio, featuring singer L.V.. The song was released on Coolio's album Gangsta's Paradise, as well as the Dangerous Minds soundtrack in 1995. It samples the chorus and music of Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise".
The song was listed at number 69 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All-Time and number one biggest selling single of 1995 on U.S. Billboard. In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Coolio was awarded a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, two MTV Video Music Award's for Best Rap Video and for Best Video from a Film and a Billboard Music Award for the song/album. The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
The song has sold over 5 million copies in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Croatia alone, and at least 5.7 million worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Coolio has performed this song live at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards with L.V. and Wonder, at the 1996 Grammy Awards with L.V., and also with Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis.
The song samples Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", a song from his album Songs in the Key of Life. "Gangsta's Paradise" uses the same melody, but a different orchestration of the same music.
The song begins with a line from Psalm 23:4: "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death", but then diverges with: "I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left." Adding to some of the religious overtones are choral vocals in the background.
"Gangsta's Paradise" is one of the few Coolio tracks that does not feature profanity. According to Coolio, the lyrics initially did feature swearing, but Wonder did not approve of it: "I had a few vulgarities...and he wasn't with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible."
The music video for the song was directed by Antoine Fuqua of Propaganda Films, and featured Michelle Pfeiffer reprising her earlier role in Dangerous Minds.
When Coolio won the Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, he said in a press conference that Bone Thugs-n-Harmony deserved the award for "Tha Crossroads".
File Hashes
HASH1: 060C52A5A39BFC61 HASH2: 9AC08F6113958B8B (MP3) 
Hip-Hop 
Confrontational 
Urban/R&B 
2,901,197 
89,772 (3%)
None 
Status
UnlockedData Complete
90%External Links
