The song, which was featured on his own album of the same name and on the soundtrack of the motion picture Dangerous Minds, was released on August 1, 1995, and certified Platinum in October of the same year. "Gangsta's Paradise" was the biggest-selling single of 1995 on U.S. Billboard and earned Coolio a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance as well as two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video and Best Video From A Film.

"Gangsta's Paradise" was voted best single of the year by The Village Voice and several other respected music journals in addition to being ranked number 85 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time. The single has sold over five million in The United States, The United Kingdom and Germany.

Musically, "Gangsta's Paradise" contained an interpolation of Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "Pastime Paradise" from his critically acclaimed album Songs In The Key Of Life. The hook of "Gangsta's Paradise" was identical to Stevie Wonder's hit except for the word "pastime" being replaced with "gangsta."

L.V. sang the hook and was listed and credited as a featured artist on Coolio's hit. L.V., whose birth name is Larry Sanders was a member of South Central Cartel with Havocc, Prodeje, DJ Kaos and DJ Gripp. In 1995 Coolie told talk show host Howard Stern that he heard L.V. singing the hook and was inspired to write the song. "L.V. was singing the track and I walked in and I was like damn I like that", he explained. Coolio performed "Gangsta's Paradise" live with L.V. at the 38th annual Grammy Awards.

Introduced by Luther Vandross and Kenny G, Coolio and L.V. also performed "Gangsta's Paradise" live at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards with a string section, full choir, and special guest Stevie Wonder. Coolio delivered an emotionally charged performance over the strings and choir and three minutes in Stevie Wonder appeared and sang the bridge to "Pastime Paradise" to thunderous applause from the live audience. Stevie and L.V. then performed the hook alternating between the two with Stevie singing the "Gangsta" hook and L.V. singing the "Pastime" hook. The performance ends with the singers alternately singing the lines "ain't no gangsters livin' in paradise/ain't no racists livin' paradise." Coolio won single of the year over "Waterfalls" by TLC, "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal and "Creep" by TLC.