No one can predict just how well a great song will perform in future years and that can be applied a million times over for Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Released in 1995 for the Dangerous Minds’ soundtrack, the song has taken on a pop culture significance that honestly does match the track’s hard aesthetic. Twenty years later, the OG Compton rapper is still eating off the fruits of its labor.
Actress Brittany Snow recently stopped by stopped The Ellen Show to promote Pitch Perfect 2 and admitted that “Gangsta’s Paradise” was her “go-to” song. In all her Anglo-Saxon glory, she performed the Grammy Award-winning hit to prove there were no boundaries the song couldn’t eclipse.
Flip through the gallery below to see all the other places Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” popped over the years where you least expected it to.
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Photo: YouTube
Millennial teens were recently tested on their knowledge of the record and even if they couldn’t easily identify with all the specifics, they were well aware of its existence.
Seth Rogen just had to slip this scene in the mix during 2010’s The Green Hornet.
Remember Juicy Fruit’s “Serenading Unicorn”? Well, he got onboard with the “Gangsta’s Paradise” train for the love of comedy.
Of course, everyone knows 1996 parody by “Weird Al” Yankovic, which was shrouded in controversy after Coolio claimed he never had given the goofball permission to record it. After years of cold war (and thousands of dollars in royalty checks), they reportedly made amends.
A few months ago, YouTube stars Postmodern Jukebox and Robyn Adele Anderson recreated Coolio’s hit with a 1920s-style rendition that would have given Al Capone his swag in the speakeasy.
In 2014, Warner Bros. used the classic joint to introduce Melissa McCarthy’s Tammy to audiences and it paid off. It grossed more than $100 million worldwide.
English singer-songwriter James Morrison tackled “Gangsta’s Paradise” with passionate acoustic version on FM104’s Strawberry Alarm Clock in 2011.
Rock group Falling In Reverse were featured on the cover album, Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2 and chose “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and got the apparent co-sign from Coolio himself.
Coolio ft. L.V. – “Gangsta’s Paradise
