THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511160146
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Rickey Wright
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Coolio, ``Gangsta's Paradise'' (Tommy Boy)
With ``family values'' still resounding as an anti-rap slogan across the land, Coolio arrives with a second album that reminds us that there are families in the ghetto, too. The anguish of the mother of the gangsta who narrates the title track (the giant hit from the ``Dangerous Minds'' soundtrack), the hardworking young black women celebrated in ``For My Sistas,'' Coolio's own kids in an update of Sly Stone's ``Smilin' '' - they're all a part of this world.
``Gangsta's Paradise'' is far from a goody-goody public-service message of a CD, though; just remember the downbeat message of its namesake single. As part of his reach to present every aspect of life in the hood, Coolio also lays down dance-floor exhortations (``Exercise Yo' Game''), a nod to romance (``A Thing Goin' On,'' which borrows heavily from the '70s classic ``Me and Mrs. Jones'') and a hilarious tale of public intoxication (``Kinda High, Kinda Drunk''). And from the bass-heavy beats to Coolio's rapping, so gleeful in its embrace of language, its 60-plus minutes rarely flag in intensity. As did 1994's ``Fantastic Voyage,'' this album presents Coolio as some kind of hero - unafraid to come off sensibly compassionate where so many toy gangstas just shoot their gats off, and ready and able to make it funky. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by CNB