Coolio’s Cause of Death Revealed to Be Fentanyl
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The rapper Coolio’s cause of death has been attributed to fentanyl, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner, the New York Times reports. The conclusion comes nearly seven full months since the rapper died on Sept. 28, 2022 at age 59. He also reportedly had traces of heroin and methamphetamines in his system.
The medical examiner cited other “significant conditions”: the rapper had a history of asthma and had cardiomyopathy, and records reportedly showed that he had recently used phencyclidine,.
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At the time of his death, the musician and actor born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was suspected to have died from a heart attack, though an official cause was not determined at the time.
In a statement, LAFD confirmed that a team of firefighters and paramedics responded to a medical emergency at Coolio’s location and attempted to save the rapper for nearly 45 minutes. “LAFD arrived four minutes after dispatch to find an approximately 60-year-old male unresponsive, and they performed resuscitation efforts for approximately 45 minutes, per protocol. With consultation through the Base Hospital Physician, the patient was declared dead just before 5:00 p.m. PT. LAFD cleared the scene, which was left under LAPD supervision, awaiting the Coroner.”
At the time, TMZ reported that law enforcement sources stated that no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.
In the months since his death, the first posthumous Coolio single arrived with appearances from Too $hort and DJ Wino. The song, titled “TAG, You It,” will appear on the forthcoming album Long Live Coolio. The record will be released later this year. Coolio’s voice will also appear in a forthcoming episode of Futurama when the show returns in a 20-episode revival on Hulu.
The popular Kwanzaa-bot character, voiced by Coolio, last appeared in a 2010 holiday special, but series executive producer David X. Cohen has teased a posthumous release of the new material. In what Cohen described as “the best send-off we can” give, Coolio’s character will hand out his informative “What the Hell is Kwanzaa?” book one last time when the new slate of episodes airs.
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