L.V. Doug Rasheed, producer: I was roommates at the time with Paul Stewart, Coolio’s manager. and why is he/her in every song. Of course, since “Gangsta’s Paradise” had been at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks, by definition it was a prime candidate for a parody. Stevie Wonder's “Pastime Paradise” and Coolio's “Gangsta’s Paradise” are both depressing representations of how America defines a paradise. The song also showed that gangster rappers could work with Hollywood’s elite, and promote a film starring a white actress. [Laughs]. Baker: L.V.’s stark crooning and Coolio’s raps about the street life were endearing to people who simply looked at Coolio as a party rapper. Sign up for our newsletter. Coolio at a young age joined a Compton based gang called the Baby Crips (Fulton). Rasheed: Our whole crew, Paul, Coolio and all of us, everybody just kind of went kind of crazy with the success of “Gangsta’s Paradise.” We all split apart; I worked with L.V. I knew that for the video I would be doing a number of Amish-related vignettes revolving around my parody lyrics, but since the “Gangsta’s Paradise” video was such an MTV staple, I knew that I needed to make some allusions to that as well. Music/ Lyrics Literary Devices Meaning "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" - Allusion -PSALM 23- eternal life given by Jesus / his life is a dead-end "I was raised by the streets"- Personification (gang members/ neighborhood raised him) "I'm an educated fool" - In his music, Wonder usually plays songs with his signature style of being weirdly mellow, and forcibly upbeat (Mazmanian). Web. Coolio: I still get quite a few people coming up to me and telling me that “Gangsta’s Paradise” got them through some really rough times in their life, and that it changed their life. A lot of rap has meaning to it, youjust only go off of the mainstream popular and judge the rist based on that. The music video to this song had Antoine Fuqua (who later directed Denzel Washington’s “Training Day”) as its director. to get an answer to that question you have to read the lyrics and analize, As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there's nothing left, Cause I've been blastin and laughing so long that, But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it, He be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of, You better watch how you talking, and where you walking, Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk, As they croak I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool, I'm the kinda G that little homies wanna be like, I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street, Too much television watchin' got me chasin dreams, I'm a educated fool, with money on my mind, Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye, I'm a loced-out gangsta, set-trippin banger, And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool, Death ain't nothing but a heart beat away. Still have questions? [1972’s Music of My Mind.] L.V. Hearing the bass line, the chorus line and the hook, it just opened up my mind. Web. Soul Culture Media LTD, 28 09 2011. How do you get ownership of your music? Jinman, Richard. I guess. Impressively enough, the list of charts in which it had done so includes both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, a very-rare feat in and of itself. Daily Record 26 09 1997. n. pag. Wonder’s lifetime experiences with race relations directly influenced his word choice in “Pastime Paradise”. It has sold in excess of six-million copies worldwide. Rhythm And Poetry). Song meanings ©2003-2020 lyricinterpretations.com. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. LexisNexis. 5 Oct 2011. I jumped in the car and I started calling people and playing it over the phone for them — “What you think about this?” The whole time I was doing it, I was like, “They’re really gonna love this! L.V. Soren Baker, hip-hop journalist: I think “Gangsta’s Paradise” resonated because of the song’s video, which featured Coolio in a series of face-offs and stare-downs with Michelle Pfeiffer, the star of Dangerous Minds. . L.V., singer: Oh, that scene was beautiful, man! As if that wasn’t enough, it went on to the be ranked the top song of 1995 by Billboard (becoming the first rap song to top Billboard’s year-end chart). A town which gang activity or other criminal activity is common and glorified by the locals. Rasheed: Paul was a DJ. And why is this the case? But when I was doing the final mix, I said, “Something ain’t right!” So I went in, I re-did the drums right there on the spot, and then I decided I needed to beef up the strings; within like 10 minutes, I re-did probably half the track. The fact that Coolio served seven months of jail time for committing larceny at the age of seventeen (Hatt, and Schnaufer), and that he had gotten addicted to crack cocaine before the age of twenty (Fulton) supports his credibility of being a gangster. The music is a reworking of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", a song from his album Songs in the Key of Life. A lot of guys told me it got ’em through their prison time. Throughout his career, Wonder has created many songs in which he addresses certain subjects in order to bring change. Coolio: Four or five days after we recorded it, Paul was like, “We’ve got a meeting with Disney tomorrow — be there on time!” I called Tommy Boy; I had sent them a cassette, so they got to hear it first-hand, and their attitude was still, “Yeah, it would make a good album cut!” So I said, “You don’t mind if Disney wants to use it for a film? ” Being an “educated fool” means that he understands the consequences of living life as a gangster, but does it anyway. He therefore decided not to grant him permission to use “Pastime Paradise” until he made the lyrics of “Gangsta’s Paradise” more family-friendly. It has nothing to do with me; it has to do with whatever person is listening to it at the time. In America in 1976, most blacks were not treated equally. He focuses on the general sense of hopelessness many people who reside in such areas are actually afflicted with. Baker: “Gangsta’s Paradise” proved that Coolio wasn’t a one-hit wonder, and that he didn’t have to deliver a prototypical radio record in order to enjoy success. ). "Gangsta's Paradise" (released on Coolio's album with the same name in 1995) sampled Wonder's music in its entirety but changed the lyrics to be about a hopeless feeling in the inner city. Rasheed: Paul took the demo and shopped it to a couple of films, one of which was Dangerous Minds. Living in a Gangsta's Paradise. Me and Al, we’ve been good for a long time now. Web. keep spending most our lives. 'SNL': Weekend Update Skewers Trump's 'Coronavirus Giveaways,' Town Hall, ‘Lovecraft Country’ Creator Misha Green on Bold Storytelling and the Season Finale, Watch Miley Cyrus Cover Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ for Save Our Stages Festival. And accordingly Coolio sets out to capture the sense of pessimism which is part and parcel of growing up in such an environment. (2017, Mar 09). It solidified me in the rest of the world. He says in the song that he is 23 right? : When Coolio wrote the lyrics, I was like, “Wow, man, that’s deep!” Because what he was talking about was exactly what I was singing about. Crawford, Selwyn. Martha Stewart.. SHE gangsta, idiot..god its about a gangsta who wants a normal life. Web. In fact “Gangsta’ Paradise” can easily be classified as one of the most-successful tunes in the history of rap music. Coolio’s quest for redemption in the song also likely resonated with people having the same questions about their own lives. Through the difference in the context of each writer’s life, these two interpretations of the same song are very different in meaning. I was like, “Man, these people don’t even speak English, and they’re loving the song like this?” That’s what really tripped me out. Asked me about my idea, and said yes. It talks about all the losses and pain that come from the gangsta life style and try to draw attention to the problems with the way society is turning. In the second half of the song, Wonder describes a future paradise in which there is no such thing as inequality between different races. African American Music Reference. It was a great moment! Why Adam Sandler’s ‘Thanksgiving Song’ Is a Holiday Classic, Revisiting Hours: ‘North Dallas Forty’ vs. the NFL, Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Chinese Democracy’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know. countries where rap songs don’t commonly make it to number one. Log in now to tell us what you think this song means. When Stevie heard it, he was like, “No, no way. "Stevie Wonder’s Songs In the Key Of Life revisited on its 35th anniversary | Return To The Classics". Songs in the Key of Life, my mother had that album at the house, so it was kind of weird that I didn’t know the song. Powered by  - Designed with the Hueman theme, Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” Lyrics Meaning. Coolio: I did a couple of rough passes on the vocal, L.V. Through his credibility of being a pop icon, Wonder hoped that people would hear his song and want to end any racial inequalities still present in America. Egan, Barry. Who the fuck was I to take the position that I took? Much richer, white Americans also adopted the context of Coolio’s gang life. They were afraid that the movie was going to flop; they were terrified. It’s all things to all people. “Amish Paradise” seemed a perfect irony — the Amish lifestyle is diametrically opposed to the Gangsta lifestyle, and I immediately saw a lot of comedic potential in rapping about life on the mean streets of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. keep spending most our lives. The song also alludes to their dream of one day living in peace. Writer-"dam foo I hate how I get checked everytime I write my name up on these walls" Tagger … Coolio: I have to say, that was probably one of the least smart things I’ve done over the years. Living in a gangsta's paradise. I walked into the studio, and asked Doug, “Wow, whose track is that?” Doug said, “Oh, it’s something I’m working on.” I said, “Well, it’s mine!”, Rasheed: Coolio, at the time, had already had a hit record [1994’s “Fantastic Voyage”]. what are your all time favorite lyrics, one or two lines? Coolio: I wasn’t completely happy with Antoine Fuqua’s concept at first, because I wanted some low-riders and some shit in it; I was trying to take it ‘hood.