Comedic music star, Alfred Matthew Yankovic, who goes by the name, Weird Al Yankovic, is known for his satire tracks, including Amish Paradise, based on Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise. However, it seems like the two weren’t the best of friends, as they actually had an 11-year feud.
Music star Coolio sadly passed away in September 2022, at the age of just 59. At the time Yankovic posted a tribute to the rapper on Instagram, after their long-standing feud. However, Coolio did admit he was wrong later down the line. Here’s what went down…
Coolio and Weird Al Yankovic’s 11 year feud
The pair butted heads after the release of Amish Paradise, with Coolio not being happy about him “desecrating” his ‘serious song’, Gangsta’s Paradise.
At the 1996 Grammy Awards Show, Coolio said: “I ain’t with that…I think that my song was too serious…I really…don’t appreciate him desecrating the song like that,” Vulture reports.
“His record company asked for my permission, and I said no. But they did it anyway…” he claimed.
However, by 2005, it seems like the West Up! star had a change of heart, telling PEOPLE: “There’s a parody law that says you can make a parody of anything you want. The person who owns the original can’t do anything.”
He then told the publication he had “let it go” and wasn’t going to fight Al.
After the star’s death, journalist Dan Ozzi shared an excerpt from an interview with Coolio on Twitter, in which he said “he was wrong.”
“Let me say this: I apologized to Weird Al a long time ago and I was wrong. Y’all remember that, everybody out there who reads this s—. Real men and real people should be able to admit when they’re wrong and I was wrong, bro,” he said.
Other artists who ‘rejected’ Weird Al Yankovic Parodies
It wasn’t just Coolio who ‘turned down’ parodies from the star. In fact, there were many high-profile celebrities who did the same, including U2 and Prince.
The star reportedly tried to get a sign-off for Purple Rain, with a song called Yellow Snow, however it just wasn’t meant to be.
In an interview with Billboard, Al said: “I hadn’t approached him in about 20 years because he always said no, but I had this fantasy that he’d come out with a new song, I’d have a great idea, he’d finally say yes and it would erase decades of weirdness between us. But that’s obviously not going to be the case.”
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