Coolio was 32 years old when “Gangsta’s Paradise” hit the airwaves in the summer of 1995 and landed at the top of the charts.
By February 1996, the single had sold 3 million copies, and that month, Coolio sang it onstage at the Grammys, where he won Best Rap Solo Performance, edging out legends Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and the Notorious B.I.G.
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But by then, word was out that Weird Al Yankovic was coming out with his parody, “Amish Paradise.” Weird Al had already gotten laughs at Coolio’s expense at January’s American Music Awards, appearing onstage with gravity-defying cornrows that mocked Coolio’s eccentric hairstyle.
Coolio, who died Wednesday at age 59, was displeased by the parody, which substituted rural, low-tech, agrarian struggles for modern, inner-city, black struggles.
“I’m not happy with it at all,” Coolio said. “’Gangsta’s Paradise’ was not a song like ‘Beat It,’” or the other songs by much bigger names Weird Al had parodied. “All of those were like party songs … and uptempo. ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ is like a spiritual and I think he disrespected me by doin’ that, and I’m not pleased at all.”
It was a sour note sounded by a 32-year-old who had just been catapulted to celebrity. It was also an act he would regret.
Years later, music writer Dan Ozzi asked Coolio, “Do you still have a beef with Weird Al?”
“F*** no,” was Coolio’s response. “I let that go so long ago.”
But this wasn’t a story of Coolio forgiving Weird Al. It was a story of Coolio admitting a mistake. “Who the f*** am I, bro? He did parodies of Michael Jackson, he did parodies of all kinds of people and I took offense to it because I was being cocky.”
Whereas Weird Al had apologized when Coolio got upset in 1996, Coolio apologized in turn to Weird Al.
“I apologized to Weird Al a long time ago and I was wrong,” he said. “Y’all remember that — everybody out that there who reads this sh*t. Real men and real people should be able to admit when they’re wrong, and I was wrong bro.”
Which brings us to the president of the United States.
In a cringe-inducing moment on Wednesday, President Joe Biden called over the microphone to the recently deceased Rep. Jackie Walorski.
“I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like Rep. McGovern, Sen. Braun, Sen. Booker, Rep. — Jackie, are you here?” Biden said, kicking off the event. “Where’s Jackie? I thought she was going to be here — to help make this a reality.”
It was supremely embarrassing. Mortifying, in fact.
Here’s the thing: I can imagine myself doing that. I’ve come very close, repeatedly, to asking after a friend’s deceased mother or husband, and I had been at the funerals. If I spoke in public as much as Biden did, and had as many associates as he has, I may have done this already. Some day, I might. Certainly by the time I am Biden’s age, it wouldn’t surprise me.
So there was a clear, simple answer the Biden White House could have given when asked what happened. It could have said, “The president momentarily forgot about the congresswoman’s tragic death. He is embarrassed and has reached out to the family.”
But unlike Coolio, Biden apparently cannot admit when he did something embarrassing and bad. Biden’s spokeswoman offered incoherent flippant explanations of the incident, never admitting that Biden had a memory lapse.
Obviously, the White House is sensitive about anything that touches on Biden’s age or mental fitness. But also, Biden’s staff isn’t doing him any favors by refusing to admit a mistake. Which brings us back to Coolio.
“I made a wrong call and nobody stopped me,” Coolio said. “That’s one thing I’m still upset about — my management at the time. Somebody should’ve stopped me from making that statement.”
Somebody, first of all, should have told Biden that Walorsky was deceased. And Biden’s management should have led with apology and humility rather than denial and stubbornness.
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Perhaps reflecting on the life of Coolio will help Biden correct course — and hire people who will save him from his mistakes.
