If you have never heard the song Pasttime Paradise by Stevie Wonder, go give that a listen. And now you know that Gangsta's Paradise is entirely a rip off. He doesn't just sample a piece, he steals the whole damn song and puts some bullshit lyrics on top of it, a trend that would appear again and again throughout the end of the 90s as hip hop declined and became a meaningless trope in pop music. Stevie actually approved of the ripoff, being the nice guy that he is, so I am going to be angry for him that his song was done so dirty.
The opening line is a paraphrased line from Psalms 23, perhaps the most overquoted bit of prose in history. From there on it just gets worse. Not just because it is bad writing about already tired rap cliches, but because it is all lies. Coolio was never a gangster. He was an asthmatic nerd who committed a few minor crimes, got rejected by the Baby Crips, and became a crackhead. Sure he grew up poor in Compton, but he was never a gangsta. He was never a tough as nails thug committed to violence. He is appropriating a lifestyle he never lived, which even if he had, would be nothing to brag this much about.
The only thing that keeps this song on its feet is sentimentality. It was so ubiquitous upon its release, immediately working its way into commercials, television and film, that it was force fed into future nostalgia, where it lingers today in suburban get togethers of late Gen X pod people.
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