"Gangsta's Paradise" is a rap song by Coolio featuring L.V. from the movie Dangerous Minds(1995). The song was later released on the albums Gangsta's Paradiseand soundtrack in 1995. Coolio was awarded a Grammy for the song/album. The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village VoicePazz & Jop critics poll.

It sampled the chorus and music of the song "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder (1976). Wonder performed the song with Coolio and L.V. at the 1995 Billboard Awards.

The song was also listed at #69 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All-Timeand #1 biggest selling single of 1995 on U.S. Billboard.

In 2008, it was ranked number 38 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

L.V. released a solo version of the single in 1996 on his debut album, I Am L.V.. This version did not feature Coolio, and featured additional lyrics written by L.V. himself. The single did not repeat the popularity of the original with Coolio.

The music is a reworking of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", a song from his album Songs in the Key of Life. "Gangsta's Paradise" uses the same tune, and a different orchestration of the same backing music. Coolio changed the lyrics to be more relevant to life on the streets.

The song begins with a line from Psalm 23:4 from the Bible: 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 nothin' left.Adding to some of the religious overtones are choral vocals in the background.

Many of the lyrics are very dark and tragic and are meant to be a criticism of the violence and tragedy of the "gangsta" life. The choral lines (sung by L.V.) Tell me why are we so blind to see / That the ones we hurt are you and meoffer an especially plaintive self-criticism.

The music video for the song was directed by Antoine Fuqua of Propaganda Films, and featured Michelle Pfeiffer reprising her earlier role in Dangerous Minds.

When Coolio won the Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, he said in a press conference that Bone Thugs-n-Harmony deserved the award for "Tha Crossroads".

The single reached number one in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, making it Coolio's most successful single. Following Coolio's appearance in the UK TV show Celebrity Big Brother 2009 Gangsta's Paradise re-entered the UK singles chart peaking at #31.

There are some parodies of the song, including "Amish Paradise" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, which was released the following year, reaching #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 only does parodies by artists that he has spoken with directly, rather than through intermediaries. Photos from the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show suggest Yankovic and Coolio may have made amends.

The Christian rock band ApologetiX also did a parody called "Shepherd's Paradise" based on Psalm 23.

Another parody by Paul Shanklin using Gangsta's Paradise is "Algore Paradise," in which Shanklin sings in the voices of Al Gore and Bill Clinton. The Choral Line as sung by Shanklin (as Clinton) goes, Tell me why is it / so hard to see / If he's really a man, or just a tree.

Death metal parody-group Ten Masked Men have also done a rendition of the song. The former boy band Blue used a sample of the instrumental for their single "Curtain Falls".

Metalcore band In Fear and Faith covered this song as well, as well as Death/Thrash band Artas.

The song appeared on the television show New York Undercover.

The song also appeared in an episode of Ross Kemp on Gangs

Sturman George Russian band ("Штурман Жорж") used a sample of the instrumental for their single "Ausweis" ("Аусвайс").

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