Coolio is the son of Jackie Slater and Artis Leon Ivey Sr.
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After his parents separated when he was 11, he got involved with Baby Crips and developed menacing behaviour to better assert himself.
Coolio turned to violence, bringing weapons to school and running his once-promising scholastic career.
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He became a regular on a Los Angeles radio station and released his first single, Watcha Gonna Do. Sadly, the first taste of fame was short-lived after the rapper fell into serious drug addiction.
Coolio checked himself into rehab for crack cocaine addiction to straighten himself out and even started working as a firefighter in Northern California.
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