Sadly, at the age of 59, Coolio passed away. Details are still being kept quiet, though cardiac arrest seems to be the indication. The rapper leaves behind ten children, and his career will always be remembered for the smash hit, Gangster's Paradise.Given the success of the track, it only made sense that the song would get parodies at some point. However, back in the day, Weird Al's popular Amish Paradise did not sit well with the artist.We'll take a look back at how the beef started and how the two artists were able to work things out long before Coolio's passing. Following the announcement of his passing, Al Yankovic was among the first to pay tribute.
What Happened Between Coolio And Weird Al
Coolio changed his entire career with the rap smash hit, Gangster's Paradise. The song remains relevant today and has amassed a record-breaking amount of views on YouTube, with one billion and counting.
Of course, given all that success, it only made sense that such a popular song would eventually get a parody version. That's where the beef takes place, as Coolio tried stopping Weird Al's version, Amish Paradise. Now the song didn't receive a billion views, but it was still a monster hit in its own right, with 126 million views.
Weird Al discussed what went into making the song. According to the artist, the goal was to make it the exact opposite of Coolio's hit, Gangster's Paradise.
"When I had to think of the opposite of gangsters, I thought of the Amish,” he said. “They are diametrically opposed, I can’t imagine anything further apart," he stated with Rambles.
He continued, “Obviously it’s not accurate, that’s where the humor comes from,” Yankovic said of his song. “Ninety per cent of my perception was shaped by Witness.”
Credit to Coolio, the artist admitted to making a mistake years later...
Coolio Admitted He Was Wrong To React The Way He Did To Weird Al's Parody
Back in April of 2014, Coolio sat down alongside Vice, discussing his past beef alongside Weird Al. This was apparently the most asked question by the fans and according to Coolio, even then, the beef had been resolved.
He stated, "No, man, I let that go so long ago. Let me say this: I apologized to Weird Al a long time ago and I was wrong. Y’all remember that, everybody out there who reads this stuff. Real men and real people should be able to admit when they’re wrong and I was wrong, bro."
Coolio continued, stating that he should have acknowledged it was all part of Weird Al's act, "He did parodies of Michael Jackson, he did parodies of all kinds of people and I took offense to it because I was being cocky and shit and being stupid and I was wrong and I should’ve embraced that shit and went with it."
Coolio wishes he had a different outlook back then, "I listened to it a couple years after that and it’s actually funny as s***. It’s one of those things where I made a wrong call and nobody stopped me. That’s one thing I’m still upset about—my management at the time. Somebody should’ve stopped me from making that statement because it was dumb. And I think it hurt me a little bit. It made me seem stupid."
On the flip side, it is clear that Weird Al accepted Coolio's apology as following the artist's passing, Al Yankovic was among the first to take to social media, paying his respects.
Weird Al Sent Out A Tribute To Coolio On Social Media
Tributes are coming in from all over, and that includes from Coolio's fans and peers. Among the first to do so was Weird Al, taking to both IG and Twitter, posting a tribute photo alongside the iconic rapper.
Fans are content to see that the beef had been resolved, while also praising Coolio for taking a mature stance and admitting to his wrong doings, something lots of artists in the past have neglected.