Weird Al's Complicated Past With Coolio Resurfaces As He Honors The Late Rapper
"Weird Al" Yankovic is beloved for his goofy parodies, like "White & Nerdy," but not everyone he spoofed was a fan. Although Yankovic always made it a point to get permission before putting his comedic spin on other artists' songs, it didn't work out very well with rapper Coolio. In 1996, the "Gangsta's Paradise" hitmaker said, "I think that my song was too serious...I really...don't appreciate him desecrating the song like that. His record company asked for my permission, and I said no. But they did it anyway" (via Vulture).
While Yankovic's parodies are usually all in good fun and rarely venture into poor taste, his song "Amish Paradise" felt inappropriate to the West Coast rhymer, who wrote the original about street crime and violence. Later, Yankovic's VH1 "Behind the Music" special revealed that he wrote a letter to Coolio apologizing and never heard back. In the documentary, Yankovic said, "I'm not sure if he feels that strongly today... I didn't mean any harm there, Coolio, really."
Now, after Coolio's tragic death at the age of 59, his strained relationship with Yankovic is in the spotlight once again. Thankfully, the parody artist's new tribute proves that the pair were able to bury the hatchet.
Coolio apologized to Weird Al before his death
After news broke of Coolio's death, "Weird Al" Yankovic posted a heartwarming tribute to the rapper. Keeping it brief, he captioned a photo of the pair hugging and smiling, "RIP Coolio." In the comments, one fan said, "I'm glad you mended fences before this."
In the meantime, journalist Dan Ozzi pulled up a past interview with Coolio where he owned his part in the feud. The rapper said, "I apologized to Weird Al a long time ago and I was wrong... Real men and real people should be able to admit when they're wrong, and I was wrong, bro." Coolio continued, "I listened to it a couple years after that and it's actually funny as s**t."
Coolio also spoke about his change of heart toward Yankovic and "Amish Paradise" at the Institute of Production and Recording in 2011: "I was like, 'Wait a minute.' I was like, 'Coolio, who the f**k do you think you are? He did Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson didn't get mad" (via Yahoo!). While Coolio's initial problems with "Amish Paradise" were understandable given the roundabout granting of permission and the original song's heavy subject matter, it's great that both artists were able to move on from their issues and find humor in the parody.