Futurama fans will soon be able to hear Coolio featured on the show. Prior to his death, Coolio recorded scened for the animated series, giving show creatives a chance to provide him with a heartfelt goodbye. The rapper appeared in over 100 films and TV shows throughout his career, either as himself or in character. Series executive producer David X. Cohen confirmed to TMZ on Sept. 29 that Coolio had recorded new dialogue and music for the upcoming reboot of Futurama.
As Kwanzaabot, the robotic patron saint of the celebration of African-American culture in the show’s future world, Coolio appeared in three episodes of the original series (including the direct-to-DVD movie Bender’s Big Score). He blended his distinct personality with his musical ability, rapping memorable lines like “I’m fighting back for Kwanzaa, so the children won’t miss it. I’m confused about its meaning, but I know it when they diss it.”
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Cohen told TMZ that he was shocked to learn of Coolio’s death on Sept. 28, especially since he recorded lines for their upcoming season only a few weeks ago. According to Cohen, Coolio returned to the studio to record more dialogue and a new song for the Futurama revival, originally announced as a Hulu project earlier this year. A new batch of 20 episodes will be aired on the streaming platform, following the show’s last episode in 2013.
During the recording session, Cohen said Coolio looked and sounded great and even spontaneously produced tracks as they went along. Cohen revealed to TMZ that Futurama is planning to dedicate his episode to him and have Coolio rap over the credits for “the best send-off we can.” He added, “Coolio was one of my favorite guests. He was always totally upbeat and genuinely enjoyed coming in to record as his character Kwanzaa-bot.” Cohen also shared that Coolio told him he had picked up a new hobby during the pandemic — sewing. The new episodes of Futurama, including Coolio’s posthumous episode, are set to air on Hulu next year.
