Coolio Featuring LV 'Gangsta's Paradise'

Chart Peak: 1 (2 weeks)

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'Gangsta's Paradise' was an American No. 1 earlier in 1995.. it is released in Britain on 16th October 1995 and seems likely to chart very very high indeed.

Curious gaps in my family's record collection part 2: even though Stevie Wonder was worshipped in our house, the one album we didn't seem to have was Songs In The Key Of Life, so in 1995 I'd never heard 'Pastime Paradise'. It's possible that in some respects that flattered Coolio's version; if nothing else, the production of 'Gangsta's Paradise' sounds a bit thin nowadays, especially against the intricate cross-cultural brilliance of Stevie Wonder's record.

Listening to it as I did then, though, I can recall how impressive it sounded. Deep in my Britpop fandom, I didn't have a lot of time for gangsta rap, and I didn't see the film Dangerous Minds at the time (from what I recall of seeing it later, it wasn't up to much anyway, just a load of clichés). But this song is something rather different, refusing the stereotypical glorification of violence and instead presenting a protagonist scared of what he's mixed up in. Subsequent events suggest that this may not have been an entirely honest representation of Coolio himself, but that matters little - it's a far more compelling storyline. And the sleevenotes guessed right: this rushed straight to the top of the chart - I recall Mark Goodier announcing it as the UK's first ever credible rap Number One, which is obviously a matter of opinion but there's no dispute that it was the first hip-hop single to sell a million, even if we forget the resurgence after Coolio showed up in Big Brother (oh, if only we could).

Those sales figures suggest that I wasn't the only one who effectively discovered a whole new sort of music largely through this record. And when I say "discovered" I mean I'd heard rap before but never really appreciated it. It's still far from my favourite type of music, but since my brother bought the album I've had a lot more time for it than I once did. A massive hit that deserved nothing less.

Coolio also appears on: Now 37
Available on: Gangsta's Paradise