Coolio to Participate in the 1999 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race
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Grammy Award-winning rap artist Coolio will be taking on a new performing challenge when he competes in the 1999 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the 25th Anniversary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Coolio has inspired a nation of hip-hop heads and mall rats alike, selling over 17 million records worldwide.
``It Takes A Thief,'' released in 1994, went platinum, as did the single, ``Fantastic Voyage.'' A year later, Coolio's gothic masterpiece, ``Gangsta's Paradise,'' sold over 4 million copies and became Billboard's No. 1 single of the year, earning it a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
With the release of ``Gangsta's Paradise,'' Coolio neatly sidestepped the sophomore jinx and sold another 4 million albums. Along the way, he won a Grammy (Best Rap Performance, Solo), an American Music Award (Favorite Rap Artist) and three MTV awards.
Scheduled to compete in the ``celebrity'' category of the race, Coolio will compete head-to-head with a host of other top-name stars including Melissa Joan Hart, Carl Lewis and Donny Osmond.
Highlights of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race will be broadcast on ABC, Sunday, April 18 during the telecast of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (4 p.m. EST). The 10-lap race, held on the 1.85-mile Champ Car track, features a field of approximately 18 drivers in cars and vans and will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN, Sunday, April 25 at 5 p.m. EST.
As part of the race event, Toyota helps raise more than $80,000 for ``Racing for Kids,'' a fundraising program benefiting Southern California children's hospitals, by donating $5,000 in the name of each participant.
Another $5,000 will be awarded to the race winner's charity of choice.
In addition, a $5,000 donation will also be made in conjunction with the annual ``PEOPLE Pole Award.'' Sponsored by PEOPLE magazine, the award honors the pole position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying session on Friday, April 16. Throughout the past eight years, the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race has generated nearly $600,000 for charity.