The Truth About Coolio's Children
The world was hit with some sad news on September 28 when it was confirmed that Coolio, the rapper behind "Gangsta's Paradise," had died. TMZ confirmed the news, with his talent manager, Sheila Finegan, saying in a statement, "We are saddened by the loss of our dear friend and client, Coolio, who passed away Wednesday afternoon. He touched the world with the gift of his talent and will be missed profoundly. Please have Coolio's loved ones in your thoughts and prayers."
It's reported Coolio — who was working on new music before his death — was found in the bathroom of a friend's home after they grew concerned for him after noticing he'd been gone for a while. After shouting his name and getting no response, the friend opened the door and sadly discovered that the 59-year-old was unresponsive on the floor. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. TMZ reported that the first responder who tried to save the rapper's life performed CPR on him for 45 minutes, sadly to no avail.
Tragically, Coolio leaves behind several children, though it's not actually known exactly how many times he became a father.
How many children did Coolio have?
One of Coolio's most notable projects was his notorious reality show "Coolio's Rules," which aired Oxygen for a single season in 2008. The show focused on the rapper's life as a dad, and featured four of his children, Artis Ivey, Artisha Ivey, Brandi Ivey, and Jackie Ivey, who were all teenagers at the time. It's thought though that the musician could have welcomed as many as six other children, per news.co.au. Though they've shunned the spotlight and didn't appear on his reality show, it's thought his other children are named Grtis Ivey, Milan Ivey, Darius Ivey, Zhaneland Ivey, and Shayne and Kate, who are believed to be twins.
Coolio opened up about his parenting style to Boston Herald in 2008, confessing he didn't really have a hand in raising his kids because he lived separately from them when they were young. He shared his plans to have his kids doing chores and living normal lives despite his fame, noting, "You can't go around being mad at each other and, you know, we're not really that type anyway. My kids can't stay mad at me, anyway. You know, I'm the daddy."
As for the mothers of Coolio's children, it's known he welcomed four kids with his ex-wife, Josefa Salinas, and may have at least one child with Anabella Bellesi, per Mirror. He also had at least one granddaughter, who he told Page Six he spent a lot of time with during the coronavirus pandemic.