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Coolio death: Protective father-of-ten made dating rules for daughters as he 'paid the bills'

The 59-year-old died on Wednesday, September 28, while visiting a friend

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The sudden death of Coolio, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr, has devastated his fans and loved ones. The rapper was just 59 years old when he died while visiting a friend in Los Angeles. Though the official cause of death is yet to be revealed, the paramedics speculated that he suffered cardiac arrest.

In a statement, ​​Sheila Finegan, his manager at Trinity Artists International, told Variety, “We are saddened by the loss of our dear friend and client, Coolio, who passed away this afternoon. He touched the world with the gift of his talent and will be missed profoundly. Thank you to everyone worldwide who has listened to his music and to everyone who has been reaching out regarding his passing. Please have Coolio’s loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.”

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The tragedy has also left many wondering who is survived by Coolio. As per reports, the ‘C U When You Get There’ singer was a loving father, who shared ten children with multiple women. His children's names are Grtis Ivey, Brandi Ivey, Milan Ivey, Darius Ivey, Zhaneand Ivey, Jackie Ivey, Kate Ivey, Shayne Ivey, Artisha Ivey, and Artis Ivey III. Out of ten, four he had with former wife Josefa Salinas, with whom he was married from 1996 to 2000.

The ex-pair had participated in ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’. Once she had reportedly said, “Although I loved Coolio with all my heart I was not happy with the state of our relationship at that time. Especially after seeing it from a different perspective.”

In 2008, Coolio had spoken about his family and children to PEOPLE and said, “I pay the bills, I make the rules.” He had also shared a strict warning for young men thinking of dating his daughters. He asserted, “I tell them don’t come around here trying to get nothing you ain’t getting at home. First of all, you ain’t going to get it.”

But the ‘Fantastic Voyage’ singer had also added, “I don’t sit there and watch over them, but the other day, I walked in the living room, and Artisha was sitting on some dude’s lap, I was like, ‘Oh, hell no.’ She just sat there, so I picked up one of the legs from the pool table and said, ‘You better get up right now.’ She was like, ‘I’m 20-years-old!’ I was like you better get yourself a 20-year-old house then!”

Meanwhile, Coolio’s death has attracted a lot of attention online with people posting tributes to him. A user tweeted, “It really is. Scary to me that we’re getting to that age where we are starting to see it happen more frequently 😔.” The second user wrote, “Ohhhhh!!!! Damn. Loved Coolio and that amazing song. Had the pleasure of sharing an audience w him at a friend’s graduation years ago. His place in rap history is well-cemented. May you Rest In Peace, bother.”

The third user noted, “Sending my condolences to Coolio's family...May God Bless your family...Rip Coolio 🕊💔🙏🏾.” “Was making dinner for my family, and old man came home and heard me listening to gangsters paradise on tv. He stood and just listened and i said to him ‘are you ok’ he says ‘yeah its just a great song’. I then said ‘coolio died today’ and he instantly bawled! RIP coolio,” the fourth one added.