Coolio's Star Fades in U.S., But Shines Abroad

June 10, 2008 — -- Last summer, the Faroe Islands -- a remote archipelago populated by puffin and sheep in the middle of the Norwegian Sea -- was a "Gangsta's Paradise."

There, 1990s rapper Coolio appeared alongside pop singer Crystal Waters of "Gypsy Woman" fame in a local auditorium that could hold no more than 1,000 fans. The event was scheduled right after the national holiday commemorating the death of Saint Olaf.

"The arrival of these two names doesn't make my fingers tingle," someone wrote on faroe-island.blogspot.com. "But I hope they'll enjoy their stay, and that a lot of people will go and listen to them."

Apparently, they did. And even with a 50 to 1 ratio of sheep to humans in this one-time Danish colony, the audience was overwhelmingly human.

Coolio, a one-hit wonder when "Gangsta's Paradise" made a splash in 1995, launched his career more than a quarter century ago in 1979, but he and other D-list rappers are finding lucrative opportunities in the most unlikely venues overseas.

Just last week, the New York Post's Page 6 spotted Coolio during a three-hour delay on a Delta airlines flight from LaGuardia Airport en route to Russia for what the paper reported was a billionaire's party.

"He came back from first class to harangue his entourage," the newspaper reported. "He was worried they were going to miss their connection."

Coolio, 44, corrected the newspaper's version of events, claiming he was actually headed for a fashion show performance, and the suggestion that he was rude was "hateful."

"I'm still here, I am not going anywhere," Coolio told ABCNews.com. "I can go song for song, show for show against anyone on the planet. All the haters out there, the critics, I don't give a ----. Hating makes me strong and gives me the power to write better."

Coolio isn't the only rapper finding a second act abroad: Vanilla Ice and Cisqo are now on tour in Australia. Like Hollywood actors whose stars fade -- from David Hasselhoff of "Baywatch" to Tara Reid of "American Pie" -- their stars still glimmer in other countries.

Mike Esterman, Coolio's booking agent, confirmed that the rapper performs for top dollar "more overseas than in the States."