Coolio to Participate in the 1999 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.LONG BEACH, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 24, 1999--Grammy Award-winning rap artist Coolio will be taking on a new performing challenge when he competes in the 1999 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is an annual 10-lap auto race held each April since 1977 as part of the United States Grand Prix West, and later the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend on the street course at Long Beach, California. at the 25th Anniversary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Coolio has inspired a nation of hip-hop heads and mall rats alike, selling over 17 million records worldwide. "It Takes A Thief," released in 1994, went platinum, as did the single, "Fantastic Voyage." A year later, Coolio's gothic masterpiece, "Gangsta's Paradise," sold over 4 million copies and became Billboard's No. 1 single of the year, earning it a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. With the release of "Gangsta's Paradise," Coolio neatly sidestepped the sophomore jinx jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. and sold another 4 million albums. Along the way, he won a Grammy (Best Rap Performance, Solo), an American Music Award The American Music Awards show is one of several annual major American music awards shows (among the others are the Billboard Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony). (Favorite Rap Artist) and three MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. awards. Scheduled to compete in the "celebrity" category of the race, Coolio will compete head-to-head with a host of other top-name stars including Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18 1976) is an American actress who is best known for playing the title roles in two successful television series, Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. , Carl Lewis and Donny Osmond. Highlights of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race will be broadcast on ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , Sunday, April 18 during the telecast of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (4 p.m. EST). The 10-lap race, held on the 1.85-mile Champ Car track, features a field of approximately 18 drivers and will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , Sunday, April 25 at 5 p.m. EST. As part of the race event, Toyota helps raise more than $80,000 for "Racing for Kids," a fundraising program benefiting Southern California children's hospitals, by donating $5,000 in the name of each participant. Another $5,000 will be awarded to the race winner's charity of choice. In addition, a $5,000 donation will also be made in conjunction with the annual "PEOPLE Pole Award." Sponsored by PEOPLE magazine, the award honors the pole position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying session on Friday, April 16. Throughout the past eight years, the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race has generated nearly $600,000 for charity. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion