This is exactly what it sounds like, a short award ceremony for our favorite crossover videos of the 1990s--the ones that took rap music from the urban to suburban. It's videos like these that made nervous white kids warm up to rap music (and I guarantee you most suburban rap listeners can recite this shit word-for-word, whether or not they will admit to it--even the hardest backpacker has the shadowy figure of Coolio lurking in their past).

Remember the movie Dangerous Minds? Yeah, me neither. But Coolio's braided dome is absolutely unforgettable. Though he looks somewhat like Pippi Longstockings, his isn't the only strange mug in the video. I wonder where the guy who sings the chorus is today--because you love him on this track, but he's completely unbelievable as a solo artist.

This track is full of gems such as "Too much television watchin' got me chasing dreams," or "Even my momma thinks that my mind is gone!" Beyond the memorable lyrics, however, is a strange title, "Gangster's Paradise"; at once easily dismissed as too romanticized, it becomes strangely poetic upon a second look. Just what is Coolio getting at here!? Just what exists in a Gangster's Paradise?

If you have subs, I would advocate that you burn a copy of "Gangster's Paradise" and bump it next time you roll out. I guarantee people will fucking love it.

Other Coolio hits such as "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin New)" and "Fantastic Voyage" are crossovers in their own right, but they had nowhere near the appeal of "Gangster's Paradise"; a song equipped with lyrics impossible not to memorize. Coolio spoke to a generation of uncomfortable white people--and look where rap music is today (not that I want to bestow too much glory on the braided one).

One final thought: how hilarious would that set have been? Michelle Pfeiffer basically just sits and stares at Coolio for the duration of the video, looking sassy. I would have been unable to contain my laughter.

Death ain't nothin' but a heartbeat away, I'm livin' life do or die, what can I say?