Coolio’s family will keep his memory (and his ashes) close to their hearts.
The late rapper – whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr. – died suddenly on September 28 at the age of 59 and according to TMZ, seven of his children will be carrying their father’s ashes in special necklaces.
According to his representative, Coolio’s ashes will be placed in pendants, with each child personalizing theirs with an inscription.
Other family members will also be given necklaces, while the rest of the “Fantastic Voyage” singer’s remains go in an urn.
A source told the Daily Mail that the service was extremely private after Coolio’s cremation, with the outlet noting that “it even froze some friends who had known him for decades” to avoid tensions between the mothers of his children.
Coolio had four children with his ex-wife Josefa Salinas, whom he married in 1996, including daughters Brandi, Artisha and Jackie along with a son, Artis, who is now going through Grtis. The family appeared in his short-lived reality show “Coolio’s Rules” in 2008.
However, little is known about his other children or even how many the Grammy winner actually had. The “Gansta’s Paradise” rapper is said to have fathered up to six additional children with several other women, including sons Milan and Darius, daughter Zhaneand and twins Kate and Shayne.
His kids were a big part of Coolio’s life, Vanilla Ice told TMZ, looking back on the last conversation he had with his old friend.
“He told me how much he missed his kids, how wonderful his kids were and how much time he had to sacrifice for his career to love his kids so much,” the lead singer of “Ice Ice Baby” – who joined Coolio on stage for the show “I Love the 90s” just days before his death – said in a video message.
“He’s so proud of them,” Ice added, saying the two would “sit like regular dads” and talk about their respective kids.
In May 2020, Coolio told Vidak For Congress that he was using quarantine to spend more time with one of his five grandchildren.
“As you can see I’m chilling with my grandchild,” he said in a music video. “We got to know each other.”
Sadly, the ’90s hitmaker passed away on his son Grtis’ 33rd birthday after attending a joint party for his child and 1-year-old grandson, according to The Sun.
Coolio was found unresponsive in a friend’s bathroom last Wednesday, with EMTs performing CPR for 45 minutes before he was pronounced dead.