• Clarification: The Guardian contacted Coolio's manager before this story was published to ask if it the TMZ story was true. He replied that Coolio was indeed linking with PornHub. Coolio himself has since told Rolling Stone the linkage extends only to a promotional video.

During his absence from the world of mainstream music, rapper Coolio has dabbled in cookery, appeared on Wife Swap and entered not only the Celebrity Big Brother house, but the Ultimate Big Brother house, too. But according to celebrity gossip website TMZ, he is gearing up for a return to the rap world, and will launch his comeback via adult entertainment website PornHub.

Since rising to fame in 1994 with his breakout hit Fantastic Voyage, Coolio's commercial success has yet to surpass the giddy heights of his Grammy award-winning track Gangsta's Paradise, and he has not released an album since the self-produced From the Bottom 2 the Top in 2009.

However, fans of the rapper, real name Artis Leon Ivey Jr, will have to become a member of PornHub in order to hear exclusive tracks featured on his forthcoming album. The rapper told TMZ that PornHub has agreed to provide all the "talent" for his video, entitled Take It to the Hub, and in exchange he would debut all his new music via the website.

TMZ has also gained footage from the Take It to the Hub shoot, which sees Coolio spraying a hose at porn stars who are dancing around a car. Coolio's manager has since been in touch with the Guardian to corroborate the news of his forthcoming video via PornHub.



The 50-year-old is currently touring, and posted an image of a mixing desk onto Facebook alongside the caption: "Back in the lab!"

In August 2013, it looked as if Coolio's career in music was over when it was reported that he was selling off the rights to his entire music catalogue, including Gangsta's Paradise, in an attempt to fund his new career as a chef. However, three months later, he released a new single entitled Get Rich.