{"id":3170,"date":"2022-09-29T07:07:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T13:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenenorth.com\/writings\/?p=3170"},"modified":"2024-04-22T02:46:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T02:46:04","slug":"respect-and-rip-coolio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/2022\/09\/29\/respect-and-rip-coolio\/","title":{"rendered":"Respect and RIP, Coolio"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first time I heard rap music was Blondie’s \u201cRapture<\/a>.\u201d I remember thinking it was interesting and moved on with life. In time, I was exposed to the likes of the Beastie Boys, RUNDMC, Insane Clown Posse, and others, but the the music never truly drew me in. Like most country music, it wasn’t for me. My headphones in the 1980s were filled with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Pink Floyd. If I was walking to or from school, Led Zeppelin’s \u201cIn Through the Out Door,\u201d was likely blaring out my ears, causing me to have to listen to lectures from adults about early deafness.<\/p>\n

I was 25 years old when Coolio’s \u201cGangsta’s Paradise<\/a>\u201d was released as well as Weird Al’s parody “Amish Paradise<\/a>.” I remember watching them one after the other on MTV, which I thought was a cool way for people to compare the two immediately as well as introducing fans of one or the other artist to another genre of music.<\/p>\n

By the time I was 25, my listening ways were set in, mainly to the music I enjoyed and found comfort and solace in as a teenager. Still, Coolio’s music always made me sit up and listen whenever I heard it.<\/p>\n