"Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a sol ...

, released on August 1, 1995 by

Tommy Boy ''Tommy Boy'' is a 1995 American buddy adventure comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former ''Saturday Night Live'' castmates and close friends Chris Farley and David ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

Interpolating In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

's song "

Pastime Paradise "Pastime Paradise" is a song by American musician Stevie Wonder, from the 1976 album ''Songs in the Key of Life''. The song was one of the first to use a synthesizer (the Yamaha GX-1) to sound like a full string section. Built initially from sy ...

" (1976), "Gangsta's Paradise" features vocals from American singer L.V. who served as a co-composer and co-lyricist with Coolio and Doug Rasheed, with Wonder also being credited for the composition and lyrics. Certified Platinum in October, the song was included on Coolio's second album, ''

Gangsta's Paradise "Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's 1976 song " Pastime Paradise", and featuring American singer L.V., the single was released on August 1, 1995. Certified Platinum in October, the song was ...

'', in November 1995. Its music video was directed by

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with '' The Replacement Killers''. His critic ...

and featured

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s ...

. The song is taken from Pfeiffer's movie ''

Dangerous Minds ''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 ...

'', and the music video is also themed around the movie. The song was the top-selling single of 1995 on US ''Billboard'' and the first rap single ever to go straight to number one in Britain. In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' listed the song at number 100 in their ranking of "100 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2012 and ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023. Coolio was awarded a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate aw ...

, two

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s for

Best Rap Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video was first given out in 1989, and it was one of the four original genre categories added at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. This award was last given out in 2006, as MTV did not bring it back in 2008 like ...

and

Best Video from a Film The MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film was first awarded in 1987, recognizing the best videos whose songs were a part of a movie soundtrack or featured in a film. As time went on, though, music videos taken from movie soundtracks beca ...

and a ''Billboard'' Music Award for the song/album. The song was voted as the best single of the year in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll. The song has sold over five million copies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Coolio performed this song live at the 1995 ''Billboard'' Music Awards with L.V. and Wonder, and at the

38th Annual Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, inc ...

with L.V.

Background and writing

Coolio, L.V. and Doug Rasheed composed "Gangsta's Paradise" and wrote its lyrics, with Rasheed also serving as the song's producer.

received crediting for the composition and lyrics due to the interpolation of his song "

" from his 1976 album ''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...

''. The song begins with a line from Psalm 23:4: "''As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death''", but then diverges with: "''I take a look at my life and realize there's nothing left.''" Adding to some of the religious overtones are choral vocals in the background. Coolio freestyled the first couple of lines, with the rest of the lyrics coming to him quickly in one sitting. He would later claim that the song ultimately came from a source outside himself, saying: "'Gangsta's Paradise' wanted to be born; it wanted to come to life, and it chose me as the vessel." The chorus of the song "''Been spending most their lives living in a gangsta’s paradise,''” was created by L.V. by stacking the vocals many times to make it sound like a choir. Due to the sampling of Wonder's music, "Gangsta's Paradise" is one of the few Coolio tracks that did not contain any

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, ru ...

, as Wonder did not appreciate his song being paired with it. Coolio said, "I had a few vulgarities... and he (Wonder) wasn't with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible."

Chart performance

The single reached number one in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Sweden,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, making it Coolio's most successful single. In Australia, the song stayed at No. 1 for 14 weeks, a record that would only be broken 22 years later by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

's "

Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with " Castle on the Hill". The dancehall and R&B-infused ...

". Following Coolio's appearance on ''

Celebrity Big Brother 6 ''Celebrity Big Brother 2009'', also known as ''Celebrity Big Brother 6'', was the sixth series of ''Celebrity Big Brother''. It was broadcast on Channel 4, launching on 2 January 2009 and running for 22 days until 23 January 2009. The launch sh ...

'', it re-entered the UK singles chart peaking at No. 31. In the United Kingdom, "Gangsta's Paradise" is the first rap single to sell over a million copies as well as the first rap single ever to go straight to Number One. In the United States, the single spent twelve weeks in the top two of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, of which three were spent at No. 1 and nine at No. 2. The song was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on February 23, 1996, indicating 3 million copies sold. It has sold a further 1.8 million downloads in the US in the digital era . As of September 2022, the song had sold 1.9 million downloads in US and had accumulated 763.1 million streams. Following Coolio's death on September 28, 2022, "Gangsta's Paradise" debuted two days later at number 5 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100, and reentered the Official Top 100 Singles Chart on 7 October 2022 at number 55.

Critical reception

Bill Lamb of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

described the song as "riveting and atmospheric".

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air a ...

for ''

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

'' noted its "undoubted brilliance". David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' felt it "may be the bleakest tune ever to top the pop singles chart." He added, "With its ghostly choir and lyrics about a gun-toting 23-year-old who kneels in the streetlight wondering if he’ll live to see 24, it examines the abyss with journalistic coolness." ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

'' praised it as "complete pop greatness". ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' called it a "rap rhapsody", naming it one of The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995.

David Bennun David Bennun (born 1968) is an English writer, journalist and music critic. Career Bennun started his career in music journalism in the 1990s. Notable publications he has written for include ''Melody Maker'', ''The Guardian'' and ''The Quietu ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' wrote, "That single. F*** me, it's good. The slow pulse of strings, the heavenly choir. Puts me in mind of prime

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They ...

, of all things. Coursing at the rate of a slow heartbeat, point being, it's life as it is lived, it's in the blood. Like all the best rap, you feel the meaning, you sense it, before you even listen to the lyrics". Another ''Melody Maker'' editor,

Taylor Parkes Taylor Parkes (born 30 April 1972) is a British journalist. He is best known for his music journalism which appeared in ''Melody Maker'' from 1993 to 1998. Parkes was a champion of Saint Etienne, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers and the Romo scen ...

, said, "An oddly reserved, frustratingly MEAGRE moment. Coolio is, generally speaking, among the lusher, more intriguing gangsta rappers... "Gangsta's Paradise" limps a bit. Nice ominous, looped choir. Fits a little too comfortably on ''

America's Top 10 ''America's Top 10'' (commonly abbreviated to ''AT10'') was a popular weekly syndicated music television chart show that began airing in 1980 and ran until 1992. The show was hosted by Casey Kasem throughout its run, with Charlie Tuna announcin ...

''." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Last year, this rapper hit paydirt with a reworking of

Lakeside Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria * Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia * Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria * Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Queen ...

's "

Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who are shrunk to microscop ...

". This time around, he pulls off the same trick with this tall tale founded on

's "

". Unlike the original, which surprisingly never was a hit, this one was a US number 1 and has every chance of succeeding in Europe." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it four out of five, saying, "An infectious release from

-nominated rapper that challenges the assumed form of the genre. Number one in the US and could do big things here." ''Music Week'' editor Alan Jones deemed it "a brooding and menacing track".

Dele Fadele Ayodele Fadele (8 August 1962 – March 2018) was an English musician and music journalist who was active from the mid-1980s. He wrote for the ''NME'' in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was one of the first music critics to introduce then eme ...

from ''

'' named it Single of the Week, writing, "And what a breathtaking doleful and melancholy record 'Gangsta's Paradise' is. ..Stabbing strings, a keyboard drone, a massed gothic chorus of gospel voices and a beat ticking time to the bitter end, are all weaved together into this solemn theme tune".

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by American film director

and featured

reprising her earlier role as

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

LouAnne Johnson LouAnne Johnson is an American writer, teacher and former U.S. Navy journalist. She spent seven years as a radio-TV broadcaster and one year as a Marine Corps Officer, after graduating as Honor Woman in her Marine Corps OCS class. She was the fi ...

in the movie ''

''. The video also includes scenes from the movie. Initially Coolio was concerned with the video's treatment stating, "I wanted some low-riders and some shit in it; I was trying to take it 'hood'." Despite this, he trusted Fuqua and was ultimately pleased with the final result. For the music video, Coolio won the

at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

in 1996. The music video hit one billion

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

views in July 2022.

Cast and credits

* Directed by:

* Sound editor: Jeff Clark

Impact and legacy

In December 1995, ''

'' ranked "Gangsta's Paradise" number 13 in its list of "''NME'' Writers' Top 50 Singles of 1995". In 1996, it was named Best Rap 12-inch at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami. In 1999, ''

'' listed the song number four on its list of "Top Singles of the '90s". In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on

's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". In 2012, ''NME'' listed the song 100th in its ranking of "100 Best Songs of the 1990s". In 2019, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine placed it at number 20 in its ranking of "''Billboard''s Top Songs of the '90s". Same year, ''Stacker'' placed it at number 19 on its list of "Best 90s pop songs". In July 2020, digital publication ''

The Pudding The Pudding is a digital publisher which produces data journalism for storytelling. Articles in the publication are visual essays which emphasize data visualizations and use fewer words than conventional journalism. The publication does not have ...

'' carried out a study on the most iconic songs from the '90s and songs that are most known by

Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2 ...

and the people of

Generation Z Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting bir ...

. "Gangsta's Paradise" was the song with the twelfth highest recognisability rate. In October 2023, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it 166th on its "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time". The magazine praised its "magic moment"; "The song's climactic and heartbreaking final verse, when Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., calls out, "''They say I gotta learn, but nobody’s here to teach me/ If they can't understand me, how can they reach me? I guess they can't. I guess they won't … That's why I know my life is out of luck, fool.''" Same year, ''

PureWow PureWow is an American digital media company that publishes women's lifestyle content. Acquired by serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk in 2017 as part of Gallery Media Group, PureWow tailors lifestyle topics for Millennials and Generation X, i ...

'' ranked it number two in their list of "The 53 Best 90s Songs of All Time".

Parodies, covers, and sampling

There are several parodies of the song, including "

Amish Paradise "Amish Paradise" is a 1996 single by satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the hip hop song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V. (which itself is a reworking of the Stevie Wonder song "Pastime Paradise"). Featured on the alb ...

" by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

, which was released the following year, reaching number 53 on the U.S. chart. Coolio claimed that he did not give permission for the parody, which led to disagreements between the two. Yankovic claimed that he had been told Coolio had given the go-ahead through his record label, and apologized. Because of this incident, Yankovic now seeks approval for song parodies through the artists themselves, rather than communicating through intermediaries. Coolio himself said in a 2011 interview that he had since "apologized to him (Yankovic)", further stating in a ''Rolling Stone'' retrospective that objecting to the parody "was probably one of the least smart things I've done over the years." L.V. released a solo version of the single in 1996 on his debut album, ''

I Am L.V. ''I Am L.V.'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer L.V. (singer), L.V. It was released on May 7, 1996 through Tommy Boy Records. The album produced three charted singles: "Throw Your Hands Up", "I Am L.V.", and a reworking of his char ...

'' This version did not feature Coolio, and featured additional lyrics written by L.V. himself, with rap lyrics written by Scarface and Dani Blooms. In 1996, the song was covered by

Battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

for the

electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound w ...

various artists compilation ''

Operation Beatbox ''Operation Beatbox'' is a various artists compilation album released on September 17, 1996 by Re-Constriction Records. The album compiles covers of popular hip hop tracks performed by electro-industrial acts, many of whom were part of the Re-Co ...

'' and their 1996 album, ''Distance''. American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

band

In Fear And Faith In Fear and Faith was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego, California. Formed in 2006, the group was signed to Rise Records and released three studio albums and two EPs. Their debut full-length, '' Your World on Fire'', being released ...

covered the song in 2008. Austrian

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavi ...

band Artas covered the song in 2008 on the album ''The Healing''. In 2014, post-hardcore band

Falling in Reverse Falling in Reverse is an American rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed to Falling ...

covered the song for the compilation album ''

Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2 ''Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2'' is the fifteenth compilation album in the '' Punk Goes...'' series and the second installment in the ''Punk Goes '90s'' series, the first being released in 2006. Each artist that appeared on the album was approached by Fea ...

''. The video included an appearance by Coolio. In 2015,

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the initialism PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 2 ...

produced a version in a 1920s jazz style. That same year,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

hard rock band

Like a Storm Like a Storm is a band from Auckland, New Zealand, best known for combining heavy baritone guitar riffs and hard rock songs with didgeridoo. They are the highest charting New Zealand hard rock band in American radio history. Both of their two ...

covered the song on their second studio album, ''Awaken the Fire''. The song's chorus and bridge were prominently sampled by British singer

Ella Henderson Gabriella Michelle Henderson (born 12 January 1996), known as Ella Henderson, is an English singer. She competed in the ninth series of '' The X Factor UK'' in 2012, finishing in sixth place despite being a strong favourite to win. She signed ...

for her 2024 single "Alibi".

In other media

*It was first used in the 1995 drama film ''

'' and was featured in its soundtrack. * In 2011, the song featured in the comedy film ''

Bad Teacher ''Bad Teacher'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins and Jason Segel, the film tells th ...

''. * The song featured in the superhero film ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of me ...

''. * The song appears in the 2013 action comedy film ''

Pain & Gain ''Pain & Gain'' is a 2013 American action comedy film directed by Michael Bay and starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie. It is based on the activities of the Sun Gym gang, a group of ex-convicts and bodybuilders convicted of ...

''. * The song was also featured in various official trailers for the 2014 US comedy film '' Tammy'', which stars

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...

. * In 2019, the song was used in the original trailer for ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformer ...

''. * The song appears in Season 1 Episode 1 of the 2019 show ''

Raising Dion ''Raising Dion'' is an American superhero drama streaming television series that premiered on October 4, 2019 on Netflix. It is based on the 2015 comic book and short film of the same name by Dennis Liu. In January 2020, Netflix renewed the s ...

''. *

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter Oban Elliott uses the song as his entrance music when he makes his walk to the Octagon

Accolades

Billboard * Billboard Year-End Chart-Toppers 1995 ** Top Hot 100 Single number one ** Top Hot 100 Single Sales number one (2.5 million copies) (2× platinum)

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

(nominated) MTV *

1996 **

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links