Posted by John J. Moser at 03:37:20 PM on May 7, 2013
A chart-topping, platinum-selling hip-hop artist who had one of the most successful rap songs of all time is coming to Allentown’s Crocodile Rock Café, the venue just announced.
Coolio, who topped all charts in 1995 with the triple-platinum, Grammy Award-winning hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” and who sold more than 4 million copies of his three albums from 1994-97, will play the club on July 19.
Tickets, at $20, are on sale at www.cocodilerockcafe or by calling 610-434-4600.
Coolio broke onto the charts in 1994 with his debut album, “It Takes a Thief,” which hit the Top 10 and went platinum, and had the Top 3 hit “Fantastic Voyage.”
But it was Coolio’s sophomore disc, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” that was his best-seller, going double platinum and also hitting the Top 10. Its title track was No. 1 on Billboard for three weeks. It won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, and also was nominated for Record of the Year.
The song “Gangsta’s Paradise” was the No. 1 single of 1995 for all genres, and also won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video and Best Video from a Film. The song was used in the movie “Dangerous Minds.”
The album also got a Grammy nod for Best Rap Album and produced two more gold-record hits: the gold, Top 5 "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" and "It's All the Way Live (Now)."
His next album, 1997’s “My Soul,” also went gold and hit Top 30, and gave Coolio another gold hit, "C U When U Get There." A non-album single, "It's All the Way Live (Now)," also went gold in 1997 after being used in the Whoopi Goldberg movie “Eddie.” And "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" was used in the movie “Space Jam.”
Coolio also wrote the theme song for the show “Kenan & Kel,” which aired on the Nickelodeon network from 1996 to 2000.
He has released five more albums since “My Soul,” the latest being “From the Bottom 2 the Top” in 2009. And he appeared on the reality TV shows” Celebrity Big Brother,” “Ultimate Big Brother” and “Wife Swap.”
He won the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist in 1996
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