Rapper Coolio has escaped a prison sentence after pleading guilty to carrying an unlawful weapon. Saskia O’Donoghue reports.

BOEBLINGEN, GERMANY; VENICE, ITALY; LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
(Reuters) – Rapper Coolio will not have to spend time behind bars, despite pleading guilty to being in possession of an unlawful weapon.

The Grammy award winning rapper was charged with carrying a loaded pistol in a backpack at Los Angeles airport last month – and has been sentenced to three years of probation.

Coolio will also have to perform 45 days of community service after a negotiated plea deal spared him from prison.

A spokesperson for the prosecution at the Los Angeles court said the 53-year-old could have his conviction reduced to a misdemeanour after a year.

Coolio is best known for his 1995 hit ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’.

The song was the number one U.S. chart topper that year – and is one of the best-selling singles of all time.