"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin’ left," is how @coolio's smash hit 'Gangsta's Paradise' begins. It is a song that has already become an anthem, not only because of the rawness and reality of the lyrics, but also because of the sample, which is due to Stevie Wonder. It started in 1995 in a home in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, where two roommates — a music producer and a DJ — used to compete over who could find the best sample from their record collections. One day, Paul Stewart, the DJ, conceded that his roommate, the producer Doug Rasheed, had bested him when Rasheed put on a vinyl copy of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 landmark recording “Songs in the Key of Life.” The track that Rasheed played, “Pastime Paradise,” opened with a mournful synth loop that replicated the sound of a string section. The song that it inspired, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” would change both of their lives and catapult an up-and-coming West Coast rapper named Coolio to global stardom. R.I.P. Coolio! You’ll be missed.