New Details About Coolio’s Possible Cause of Death

Coolio died last week at just 59 years old, and now TMZ has new details about his possible cause of death.

Friends tell the site that the rapper suffered from severe asthma, and they believe it may have played a role in his death.

TMZ adds that family members also brought up the asthma to investigators. Coolio reportedly had several inhalers, and sometimes used them onstage during performances.

The asthma could tie in with initial reports Coolio may have suffered a heart attack.

Healthline reports, “Those with active asthma (meaning current asthma symptoms) or asthma medication use, and those who sought treatment for asthma within the previous year, are twice as likely to have a heart attack than those without active asthma.”

His friend Eric Yano also spoke with DailyMail.com saying he was “shocked” to learn Coolio had passed away. He said his friend steered clear of drugs and alcohol and hadn’t heard the star was suffering from any health issues.

Yano said, “He would never show up intoxicated or on a different planet like most people. I never saw him drinking. He'd usually have a glass of water.”

He added, “A lot of people would ask to smoke a joint with him but he never smoked.”

The last time Eric saw Coolio he “seemed completely fine.”

His longtime girlfriend also spoke with DailyMail.com about how shocked she was over the news and his final wishes.

Mimi Ivey started dating Coolio, real name Artis Leon Ivey Jr., in 2012, and even took his last name even though they never married.

She shared, “He lived a very wonderful life. You have no choice when you are going to get taken out of this world. It's a shock, but there's no way you can ever prepare for this.”

Mimi added, “I'm respecting his wishes. He wanted to be cremated. He did not want a funeral; he did not want a memorial service. He didn't want any of that.”

The couple appeared on “Wife Swap” in 2013, and briefly split up after.

Mimi said, “Yes, we had our ups and downs. But I don't care who you are, if you say you have a perfect relationship, then it's not real.”

She also addressed rumors he was seeing other women, explaining she knew about his other relationships.

“He was who he was. If he was seeing other women, I knew about it,” she said.

“There's nothing that man ever did that he hid from me. We talked about everything. I knew his whole life. We had no secrets.”

The “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper was said to be at a friend’s home in L.A. when he passed away on Wednesday.

His manager Jarez Posey told TMZ that Coolio went into the bathroom and his friend became concerned when he didn’t come out. The friend tried calling for him, but when he didn’t respond the friend entered the room and found him on the floor.

Emergency services were called, but Coolio was pronounced dead at the scene.