Stevie Wonder was his turning point; to allow the sampling of his track, Stevie mandated removal of foul language from Coolio’s hit and that got it mainstream and became an eye opener to rappers that rap can become mainstream with a few sensitivities. Rest is history.
Shame Coolio died today at just 59.
Incidentally, the same disregard for each other and for human life that his hit lyrics talk about, is presently at an all time high…..