The vocals have also clearly been doubled putting more emphasis on his expression. A great example of this is heard at 0:20 as he raps “even my mamma mumma think that my mind is done”. Coolio’s rapping is very expressive, varying in pitch and steering from tonal monotony heard in many other rappers. The strings are lowered in dynamic s playing staccato lines an octave lower, creating space for the main vocals. This very simple but effective production technique often used in hip hop songs. The absence of the snare in this section fulfils a great transitional effect as a snare hit is heard on the 4th beat of bar 4 and announces the start of verse 1. These string stabs pitched in octaves longer sustained reverb in the upper frequencies, adding presence with a sort of “shrill” effect. The synth strings are the most present instrument in intro mix, playing long but detached quarter note stabs. Again, this is sitting in the back of the mix and is part of the instrumentation sampled straight from the original. There is a cello accompanying the sub bass line. The bass line is has a smooth sustain, cutting through the mix at around 300Hz with bit of fuzz. The kick locks with the accompanying fat hip hop sub bass line and sits in the centre of the mix. The use of these samples are very indicative of the hip hop genre. Both the cowbell and guiro sit in the back of the mix as they are part of the instrumentation sampled straight out of the “Pastime Paradise” original.
The cowbell is playing standard crotchets and a guiro playing sixteenth notes on the offbeat, creating a polyrhythmic effect and adding groove to the beat. Sampled hi hats play a consistent eighth note pattern and are panned to the left. It sounds like an 808 with a short decay and a bit of added high end to give a punchy transient. The song starts in 4/4 with a hard kick played on the first beat of every bar. Coolio’s minimalist arrangement of the song take’s Stevie’s conscious and anti-materialistic soul music and forces it into the brutal context of ghetto lifestyle. With a thumping sampled kick and thick driving bass line, Coolio replaces the original “Past Time Paradise” with “been spending most our life living in a gansta’s paradise”. “Gangsta’s Paradise” is sampled straight out of Stevie Wonder’s 1979 song “Past Time Paradise”. “Gangsta’s Paradise” resonated with youth of the ghetto and also gave the world a glance of the brutality of the inner-city street life.
His lyrics in “Gangta’s Paradise” reveal his perspective of on life as an African-American man growing up in the ghetto. Coolio was born and raised in Compton and experienced these struggles first hand. The centre of much gangsta rap appealed to the under privileged and rebellious youth of the black community who experienced this harsh reality. Gangsta rap is a product of the often violent American city street lifestyle associated with poverty and drug dealing/abuse.
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