Coolio’s ‘Stupid’ Beef With ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Was Squashed Well Before the Rapper’s Death
What issue did Coolio take with Yankovic, what made him realize he was letting his ego get in the way, and how did they eventually resolve the differences? Read on to find out.
Before the death of Artis Leon Ivey, Jr., better known as Coolio, he revealed he had a “stupid” beef with “Weird Al” Yankovic that was fortunately resolved after some time to think.
“They asked me if they could do it, and I said no, and they did it anyway,” Coolio told the Hip Hop Uncensored Podcast, adding, “That was the only reason I had anything to say.”
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic spoofed Coolio with ‘Amish Paradise’
In 1995, the hip-hop star released “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and it was featured on the soundtrack for the film Dangerous Minds. A year later, Yankovic released his parody, “Amish Paradise.” And Coolio later revealed that the singer reached out to him about the spoof, but he told the comedian he didn’t have his blessing.
But he eventually came to regret it and told the “Like a Surgeon” singer as much.
In response to the perceived slight, Coolio “dissed ‘Weird Al’ on a song and the whole bulls****,” he noted. More specifically, he included the lyrics “uppercuts and fight kicks with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” in his song “Throwdown 2000.”
Coolio began to feel he overreacted in hindsight. “I sat down, and I really thought it out,” he said in a 2011 interview at the Institute Of Production & Recording (per Yahoo). He realized that his ego might have led him astray.
Coolio said he was ‘too magnificent and too terrific’ about himself to let the spoof slide
On a related note, Kurt Cobain reportedly told Yankovic, “Of course, you can do a parody,” when he asked to spoof “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
“I was like, ‘Wait a minute,” he added. “I was like, ‘Coolio, who the f*** do you think you are? He did Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson didn’t get mad.’”
He told the Hip Hop Uncensored Podcast that he wasn’t “going to say [he regretted] it” but added, “I kind of do; I regret that s***.”
“I was being too magnificent and too terrific about myself, and that’s not what you want to do,” Coolio concluded, adding he later bemoaned his behavior and apologized. He felt it was “stupid” and made him look “small.”
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic paid tribute to Coolio after his death
Coolio died at 59 on Sept. 28, 2022. Though no cause of death was immediately determined, officials believe the father of 10 likely died of cardiac arrest. Friends of the rapper said he had severe asthma, which could have contributed (TMZ).
“I should have just let it go,” he concluded. But no one seemed to hold any grudges, as he shared that he and Yankovic “talked [and] … hung out” after it all.
RELATED: Weird Al Yankovic Added ‘Weird’ to His Name While Studying Architecture at CalPoly
Yankovic showed the old disagreement was water far under the bridge and shared a simple but sweet tribute to the late rapper on Twitter. “RIP Coolio,” he captioned the post, which included a picture of them embracing.
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