Curio Corner #4: Gangsta’s Paradise (L.V. version)

In 1995, Gangsta’s Paradise was the crossover rap single: a moody, Pfeiffer-laden video clip, strong social message and misogyny-free, well-enunciated rap verses made the single palatable enough to be played across the board at radio, and tolerated across generations. One must assume Coolio’s previous single, 1994’s It Takes A Thief, Bitch wasn’t received with the same open arms. He had finally cracked the formula, and Gangsta’s Paradise was the highest selling single in 1995, shifting close to six million copies worldwide.

The part of the song that most people recall instantly (aside from the “power and money” section, obviously) is the massive chorus: a bastardisation of Stevie Wonder’s Pastime Paradise belted by West Coast R ’n’ B singer L.V. His initials stand for Large Variety, which is the type of moniker you pick when you assume millions of people aren’t going to hear it. Finding his voice on every radio station in the country, ol’ Large quickly capitalised by signing a deal with Tommy Boy Records and releasing a solo record, named I Am L.V. Obviously not wishing to distance himself from the single that brought his fame, L.V. recorded his own version of Gangsta’s Paradise, replacing all trace of Coolio; his vocal range and melodic sensibilities completely changing the tone of the song along the way.

Perhaps thankfully, L.V. never released his version of the song as a single, instead burying the track in the middle of the album. And despite his ubiquity at the time, I Am L.V. failed to chart, leaving the general public to only imagine the content of tracks such as Gangsta’s Boogie, The G Within, and Crazy Little G’s.