Tommy Boy Records has earned a 2026 Webby Award nomination in the Advertising, Media & PR – Advertising Campaigns category for Best Growth Strategy for Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” 30th Anniversary edition campaign.
Tommy Boy Music supported the anniversary with marketing efforts including influencer campaigns, contests, radio spotlights, four Dolby Atmos tracks, and a 7” vinyl of “Gangsta’s Paradise” along with an Instrumental. Tommy Boy partnered with Beatsource/Beatport on a social media challenge for the song, where DJs and creators shared their best mixes of the iconic track using a branded hashtag. The grand prize winner received a Rane One MKII DJ Controller, a pair of UE Pro 11 Earphones, a copy of Coolio’s Greatest Hits vinyl, and a year’s subscription to both Beatsource Pro and DJcity. Second and third place winners received $500 and Coolio Greatest Hits vinyl. Other marketing looks included takeovers on Music Choice, Touchtunes Jukeboxes, Spotify and a Vevo Footnotes with “Gangsta’s Paradise” producer Doug Rasheed. Four Dolby Atmos tracks from the Greatest Hits collection, including “Gangsta’s Paradise” feat. L.V., “1,2,3,4 (Sumpin’ New),” “C U When U Get There” feat. 40 Thevz and “County Line,” were also released on Apple Music and other streaming services.
The song, which features R&B singer L.V., was originally released in 1995 and became a global success, topping charts in over 15 countries and winning the 1996 Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. The song went on to be certified 3x-Platinum by the RIAA, establishing Coolio as a global hip-hop ambassador when the genre was still gaining mainstream acceptance internationally. Today, “Gangsta’s Paradise” boasts at nearly 2.5 billion streams on Spotify alone, while the music video, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer and features scenes from the movie Dangerous Minds, is topping at 1.9 billion views on YouTube. The song continually sits on the Billboard Global 200 US and Ex-US charts, and in 2021, it was among Billboard’s 100 Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs.
Voting for the Webby Awards is open now through April 16. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 21 and celebrated at the 30th Annual Webby Awards ceremony on Monday, May 11 in New York City.