Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ is Back on The Charts Following His Passing
Following the late rapper Coolio’s passing last month, his hit 1995 song, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ has returned to the charts for the first time in more than 25 years.
The multi-Platinum song has returned to Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart as well as its Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the latter list, it is currently at Number 16, while on the former, it is even higher up at Number 11. The song is also presently ranked at Number 45 on Billboard’s Global 200, a chart that measures the global success of singles worldwide.
The song has also returned to the charts outside of the US; in the UK, it peaked at number 55 on the Singles Chart and at number nine on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart. It also re-entered the Top 100, charting in nations including Greece (No. 22), Belgium (No. 50), the Czech Republic (No. 56), Lithuania (No. 62), and Poland (No. 65).
With the exception of the UK charts, where it resurfaced in 2009 following Coolio’s appearance on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, this is the first time ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ has been on most of these charts since 1996.
The song went on to become one of the most popular singles of all time after its 1995 release. It peaked at the top of the charts in 21 nations, including Australia, where it maintained the top spot for 14 weeks, setting a record that was held for more than 20 years. 26 Platinum certifications were later awarded to the song, including four in the UK and three in the US.
The popularity of ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ has increased recently along with other songs from the late rapper’s discography. In the US alone, Coolio’s tracks have received 19.6 million streams since he passed away, an increase of 264.3% overall.
In addition to ‘Gangsta’s Paradise,’ the survey also noted a significant increase in streams of his single ‘Fantastic Voyage’ and his hits ‘C U When U Get There,’ ‘1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)’ and ‘Too Hot’. ‘Fantastic Voyage’ was featured in an Airbnb commercial earlier this year.
This increase in listening has even spread to ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s discography. With his 1996 hit ‘Amish Paradise,’ Yankovic notably parodied ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’. Following Coolio’s passing, the parody’s weekly stream count has almost doubled, with a 104% increase.
One of the prominent celebrities who honoured Coolio after his passing was Yankovic. Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence, Michelle Pfieffer and Ice Cube were some of the others.
Producer of Futurama, David X. Cohen confirmed that Coolio will appear posthumously in the show’s forthcoming return. The rapper recorded a freestyle rap and dialogue for his character, Kwanzaa-bot, before he passed away.
—Silviya.Y
