And then I had to go to the bathroom, so I went back inside my managerвЂ™s house to use the toilet before I rolled out, and thatвЂ™s when I heard the track. I was getting ready to go back to my car - and I remember this clearly - there was a Chevy Biscayne that was parked next door I was looking at that, and I was asking the neighbor if he wanted to sell it. Rasheed: Coolio never liked my beats he was always like, вЂњAw man, I donвЂ™t like your drums!вЂќ But when he heard this, he said, вЂњDoug, you did that?вЂќД¬oolio: I had actually gone over that day to pick up a check from my manager. Songs in the Key of Life, my mother had that album at the house, so it was kind of weird that I didnвЂ™t know the song. I got that for my 12th birthday, that one and Fight the Power by the Isley Brothers. My very first album I ever bought was the one with вЂњSuperwomanвЂќ on it.

Doug and I were like, вЂњMan, who can we get to rap on the song?вЂќ I asked my homeboy Prodeje from South Central Cartel to do it, and Prodeje told me, вЂњMan, you should do it by yourself!вЂќ I said, вЂњNo, I want a rapper on it!вЂќ Prodeje didnвЂ™t get on the song, so I thought of Coolio.Д¬oolio: I wasnвЂ™t really familiar with вЂњPastime Paradise,вЂќ as much of a Stevie Wonder fan as I was. That whole choir that you hear was actually me - I did all the parts from soprano down to tenor to the bass. L.V.: I came in singing вЂњPastime Paradise,вЂќ but then I changed it up to вЂњGangstaвЂ™s Paradise.вЂќ I did my parts, all the vocals and the chorus, and I did the choir. was trying to get a deal at that time, so I was like, вЂњLetвЂ™s do it on L.V.!вЂќ I pulled that sample out of вЂњPastime Paradise,вЂќ and Paul was like, вЂњWow, thatвЂ™s tight!вЂќ So I decided to sample it and make a beat with it. One day, I pulled out the Stevie Wonder record, Songs in the Key of Life, because thatвЂ™s one of my favorite albums. He had a record collection and I had a record collection, so we used to see who could pull the hottest sample out. L.V., singer: Oh, that scene was beautiful, man! The Pharcyde, Tha Alkaholiks, King T, South Central Cartel, me, Coolio, the 40 Thieves - we all used to hang out there at Doug and PaulвЂ™s place in Hollywood and just kick it, you know, have fun and produce music. Everybody used to come to our house all the time - it was a hangout spot.Д¬oolio: There was a studio at the house, so my managerвЂ™s clients could come and work for free.

On the 20th anniversary of the songвЂ™s release, we asked some of the major players in the вЂњGangstaвЂ™s ParadiseвЂќ story to look back on what was not just a defining moment in CoolioвЂ™s career, but also in the history of rap music and popular culture.Дoug Rasheed, producer: I was roommates at the time with Paul Stewart, CoolioвЂ™s manager.

alone, earning triple-platinum status and inspiring the popular вЂњWeird AlвЂќ Yankovic parody вЂњAmish Paradise.вЂќ ( Coolio failed to share the publicвЂ™s appreciation for the spoof at the time, though that particular beef has long been quashed.) The song also went on to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S. вЂњGangstaвЂ™s ParadiseвЂќ won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance (it lost out to SealвЂ™s вЂњKiss From a RoseвЂќ for Record of the Year), and its video - directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose subsequent list of Hollywood credits includes the new Jake Gyllenhall film Southpaw - won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video and Best Video From a Film. The single soared to the top of the pop charts in 16 countries, including the U.S., eventually becoming BillboardвЂ™s Number One song for 1995 - the first time that a rap song had ever held the distinction of being a year-end chart-topper on the Hot 100.Д«ut the accomplishments didnвЂ™t stop there. Released in August 1995 in conjunction with the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle Dangerous Minds, and boosted by a memorable video that featured the actress and various clips from the film, вЂњGangstaвЂ™s ParadiseвЂќ not only transcended its original soundtrack tie-in, but also managed to transcend the widely-perceived stylistic and commercial limitations of hip-hop. Distinguished by CoolioвЂs thoughtful lyrics and distinctive verbal flow, L.V.вЂ™s gospel-tinged wail and Doug RasheedвЂ™s starkly funky production, the song is a deeply affecting listening experience - and its hook, lifted from Stevie WonderвЂs 1976 track вЂњPastime Paradise,вЂќ was absolutely impossible to shake. During the last five months of 1995, it was virtually impossible to go anywhere without hearing the soulful, streetwise strains of вЂњGangstaвЂ™s ParadiseвЂќ blasting out of somebodyвЂ™s radio.

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