This song contains a sample from 'Pastime Paradise' by Stevie Wonder.

This song is featured in the television series Ross Kemp on Gangs.

This song was a
Number-One Hit!

This song
was a Billboard Hit!

Wikipedia has an article on
Gangsta's Paradise

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As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left
'Cause I've been blastin' and laughin' so long that
Even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
Me be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of
You better watch how ya talking and where ya walking
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip, but I gotta loc'
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I'm the kind of G that little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night, sayin' prayers in the streetlight
Been spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Been spending most their lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Look at the situation they got me facin'
I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin' got me chasing dreams
I'm a educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I'm a loc'd out gangsta, set trippin' banger
And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool
Death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away
I'm living my life do-or-die, what can I say?
I'm twenty-three now, but will I live to see twenty-four?
The way things is going, I don't know
Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me?
Been spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Been spending most their lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Power and the money, money and the power
Minute after minute, hour after hour
Everybody's running, but half of them ain't lookin'
It's going on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's cookin'
They say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me
If they can't understand it, how can they reach me?
I guess they can't, I guess they won't, I guess they front
That's why I know my life is out of luck, fool
Been spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Been spending most their lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Keep spending most our lives
Living in a gangsta's paradise
Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me?
Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me?

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Other albums by Coolio

Most of Coolio's hit debut It Takes a Thief was fairly upbeat material, but the appearance of the stark single 'Gangsta's Paradise' in the summer of 1995 signaled a change in the rapper's music. Driven by an ominously deep bassline and slashing strings, the creeping, threatening funk of 'Gangsta's Paradise' was the most chilling thing Coolio had recorded to date, but the menace didn't come at the expense of his considerable talent for immediate, catchy hooks. Consequently, the single shot to the top of the charts and hovered in the Top Ten for many weeks. The album followed shortly afterwards, and it didn't fail to deliver on the promise of the single. Not only did Coolio expand his sound, but his songwriting skills improved, as Gangsta's Paradise has very few weak moments. Alternating between slow, funky grooves and elastic, party-ready anthems, Gangsta's Paradise is proof that Coolio is one of the most exciting and interesting hip-hop artists of the mid-'90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine