Way back, when he decided he wanted to lampoon Gangsta's Paradise, said Yankovic, he asked his record sompany, Scotti Bros., to get the nod from Coolio. That's the way he always does it, he explained.
Usually, the artists are amused. The guys in Nirvana loved it when he made Smells Like Nirvana, about how nobody could understand the words to Smells Like Teen Spirit.
A few days later, a Scotti executive bumped into COolio at a party and reported back that the rapper was OK with the idea. Weird Al began recording. Later, he heard Coolio was not OK with the idea, particularaly not on Grammy night - though that could have had something to do with Yankovic's hairdo (a homage to Coolio that also inspired the CD's title and cover art) at the American Music Awards a few weeks before.