Coolio begins his USO tour through the Balkans today and it will run through November 10th. This will be Coolio's third USO tour -- he's visited Korea and Kuwait -- and, while it's a dangerous time to travel, he's not worried.

"When it's your time to go, it don't matter where you are, so I'll go anywhere, anytime," he says. I just know when God's ready to take you, it don't matter if you're at home or Kosovo."

The rapper promises to give the troops what they want. "Some of 'em love [my songs] more than others," he says, "and some of 'em don't give a shit 'cause they want to see girls -- they don't want to see some damn dude [laughs]. So I'm gonna take some girls with me."

Coolio just released El Cool Magnifico, his first album in five years and one he describes as completely different from his past efforts. "You can hear it, lyrically," he says. "I've grown musically . . . I rap because I like to rap -- I don't necessarily rap for money or fame."

Also coming up for Coolio are a couple of film roles. He stars in Daredevil with Ben Affleck, which hits theaters on Valentine's Day, and China Strike Force, a martial arts flick also due next year.

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(November 1, 2002)