- Title: KENYA: RAP ARTIST COOLIO MAKES HIS AFRICA CONCERT DEBUT
- Date: 29th April 1998
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) COOLIO SAYING, "IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT ME BEING SO PRO-BLACK, OR I'M PRO-HUMAN. I'M A HUMAN BEING AND LOOK AT PEOPLE AS HUMAN BEINGS BEFORE THEIR SKIN COLOUR. IF YOU'RE NOT A GOOD HUMAN BEING I'LL TALK ABOUT YOU BEFORE WHAT COLOUR YOU ARE."
- Embargoed: 14th May 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NAIROBI, KENYA
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVAB2ZTSSR6N112BAPCXTLM7WADB
- Story Text: Coolio's recent trip to Kenya brought him face to face with reality outside the Western world.When the internationally acclaimed rapper from East Los Angeles made his debut in sub-Sharan Africa, he was struck by one thing -- black people in power.
"This is the first time other than Brazil...I've ever been to a place that's governed by blacks...a place where it's normal to see a dark-skinned person," he said.
His sell-out performance in Nairobi confirmed his popularity as a rapper who's won the rare combination of mainstream success and critical acclaim.
But Coolio shuns the role of spokesman for American blacks.
"It's not about me being pro-black, I'm pro-human.I look at people as human beings before their skin colour," he said.
His third album "My Soul" is fast climbing in both the American and European music charts with the single "C U When U Get There" already selling more than a million copies.
Coolio has been entertaining audiences now for only five years but already he's sold more albums -- more than 17 million -- than most artists will in their lifetimes.
His first album "It Takes a Thief" contained the hit single "Fantastic Voyage" and sold over a million.
But it was "Gangsta's Paradise", which sold in excess of three million in the United States alone and was a top-selling album around the world, that broke Coolio onto the internatioanl stage.
For Artis Ivey, as his close family know him, it's been a long hard struggle to get to the top of the music industry and one he almost gave up after nearly 20 years in the business.
Since the success of "Gangsta's Paradise", he's gone on to win a Grammy for Best Solo Rap performance, an American Music Award for Favourite Rap Artist and a World Music Award for Best Selling Rap Artist.
He's also campaigning to dispel myths about rap music glorifying violence and revenge.
But one incident threatens the artist's otherwise faultless credentials as a street-boy made good.He stands accused of assaulting a German shop assistant last November when she allegedly tried to prevent him and six band members from leaving a boutique with clothes they had not paid for.
The 29-year-old woman said Coolio shoved her aside and elbowed her in the stomach.
Following his musical successes, Coolio branched out into business, opening his talent management company "Crowbar".
He also financed a LA-based hair salon where his distinctive crown of dreadlocks became the most popular request among customers.
He's appeared on several hit soundtracks and ventured once into acting with a cameo role in "Batman and Robin".
But he's turned down a host of TV roles, dismissing them as "bullshit gangsta parts".
Coolio -- so named after a friend compared him to Spanish crooner Julio Inglesias -- lives with his wife and seven children. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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