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Gangsta's Paradise Rapper Coolio Wanted on Bench Warrant

By Kamika Dunlap | Last updated on

The Gangsta's Paradise hitmaker Coolio is now a fugitive rapper wanted on a bench warrant for missing a court date.

The rapper Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., failed show up to court for a legally mandated progress report, MTV reports.

He was arrested last year in the Los Angeles airport for crack cocaine possession. Coolio pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics, specifically crack cocaine and was on probation. He pleaded guilty in order to avoid jail time.

A judge issued a $10,000 bench warrant for the 46-year-old Grammy winner.

In general, a bench warrant is a process that is initiated by the court to the police with the purpose of directing a person's arrest.

A bench warrant also is issued when an indictment, which is a written accusation of a person's guilt for an act or omission, is handed down.

According to court documents, Coolio's lawyer tried to contact him and told the judge he did not know why the rapper did not show up to court.

Coolio is best known for his 1995 hit "Gangsta's Paradise" which was featured in the movie "Dangerous Minds." The rapper has not made another single chart hit in 10 years.

His arrest was last year was one in a series of low points for the rapper. In the weeks before his arrest at the Los Angeles airport, Coolio was robbed of shoes and jewels while stage-diving during a performance at Staffordshire University in England.

The rapper is now a fugitive.

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