Coolio leaves lasting impression

By Chad Pata

Although Coolio’s concert at the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park yesterday drew 50 people, he gave a powerful performance, rapping signature hits like “Fantastic Voyage” and “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

The area backstage looked nothing like that of Coolio's fellow rap star Snoop Dogg, who performed on O'ahu last month. Instead of strippers and boatloads of booze, Coolio enjoyed pizza and fried chicken with his kids in the Keiki Hut.

Before the show, he appeared to be just another father enjoying a family day at the park, rather than a Grammy Award-winning artist preparing to shoot a video for MTV.

Friday, he went to Kahuku High School, donating computers won through a radio-sponsored contest.

Yesterday, Coolio and his five-piece band took the stage on a stormy West side, playing to a slim crowd of perhaps 50 people. The poor turnout, however, did nothing to diminish his power.

Unlike recent rap shows by The Pharcyde and Ludacris, who showed obvious apathy when they drew a small crowd, Coolio rapped as if he were on the Grammy Awards.

Perhaps the cameras had something to do with it. The show began with some filming for the first video, "Backyard Squaredance," planned for a new album, "Coolio.com." Locals, with their hair flattened from a day on the waterslides, quickly learned the steps to his new party tune.

The song has a Barry White-type melody to it, and its built-in dance moves are sure to take over local nightclubs in the coming months.

Once the camera was turned off, Coolio turned it on, bounding through such party anthems as "Fantastic Voyage" and "I Wanna Rock Right Now."

The most amazing contrast between Coolio and the rest of the rap world was his ability to censor himself.

While fellow megastars such as Eminem insist that foul language is the only way to articulate their views, Coolio uses them only sparingly in his songs. He edited them out entirely for this show, in deference to children in the audience.

Though he hails from Compton and had trouble with drugs when he was younger, he does not use these stories to make himself seem tough, but brings a message of hope.

In his song "Show Me Love" he rants, "If I see you on the street/ put away your heat/ bounce your head to the beat/ Show me love."

Even when he did step off the straight and narrow, with a song about marijuana called "Who Got Da Bomb," he made a disclaimer to the audience that though he may like it, he does not want children doing it.

"Do as I say, not as I do," he yelled with a grin.

All was not just booty-shaking among the palm trees at the park. Near the end of the set, a mock drive-by shooting blared through the speakers, sending the band scattering and Coolio bouncing through the park as if his Medusa-like hair was on fire.

He retook the stage a few moments later with a eulogy to Tupac and the opening bars to his 1996 Grammy Award-winning song "Gangsta's Paradise," which lays out the tragic life of a kid gang-banging on the streets.

Eyes that had been full of mirth turned hard as Coolio machinegunned through the lyrics, silencing the crowd as the pain poured through.

He wrapped up the song, sat down on the stone handrail that led to the dance floor and spoke to his fans, saying that though people are dying all the time, it is better to focus on new lives.

As if to emphasize the point, his son frolicked on stage behind him, imitating his superstar father's moves.

Parents and fans alike were treated to what could be great about hip-hop, that it can help heal rather than hurt. It's just too bad more people did not get to see this show.