Grits Ivey is also known as Artis Ivey and is the son of 80s hip-hop sensation, Coolio. The young man got arrested for robbery, kidnapping, and other crimes in 2011 and was sentenced in 2012. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time he was getting on the wrong side of the law.
Of all Coolio’s 10 children, Grits Ivey is the oldest son and the only one who has been in the news for not-so-proud reasons. Asides from the facial and physical attributes he shares with his father, there are some more similarities between the 35-year-old Gritz and the ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ singer.
Grtis Ivey was Born during his Parents’ 13 Years of Relationship
Grtis Ivey was born Artis Ivey III in 1989. He is 1 of the 4 children reportedly birthed from the union between his father and a radio broadcaster.
His parents, Artis Leon Ivey II was, as already stated, rap artist whose music began to make waves in the 1990s. For about 10 years, Artis Leon dated a woman known as Josefa Salinas who was a radio presenter.
Ivey’s mother worked with HOT 92.3 FM Los Angeles for 14 years. In recent years, she was a radio presenter with Old School 104.7 FM.
Grtis parents’ relationship started in 1987 and by 1996 they decided to get married. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted for a shorter period than their relationship as it ended in the year 2000.
The celebrity child is however the oldest son of the rapper but has 9 other siblings. According to several sources, Josefa and Leon had 4 children consisting of 3 girls and 1 boy.
Grtis and his sisters first made it to the media space when they were featured in their father’s reality TV show. The 2008 Oxygen Media TV show titled ‘Coolio’s Rules’ saw the rapper navigate being a single father, his career, and his dating life.
Asides from his sisters, Ivey III has several step-siblings from his father’s other relationships. From different women, Coolio fathered a total of 6 other children.
Grtis got into Trouble with the Law a Couple of Times
At the age of 22, Grtis was on the verge of being sentenced to nothing less than 3 and a half years in prison. He was arrested and charged with robbery and kidnapping as well as other offenses bordering on an action he took.
One of his earliest crimes was providing false information to a police officer which happened in 2010. Additionally, he faced battery charges which he claimed to be innocent of.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, was his arrest on November 14, 2011. His charges this time were armed robbery, kidnapping with a deadly weapon, domestic violence battery as well as living off s s*x worker.
During the trial for the case, it was said that the celebrity child could face up to 120 months in prison. The least stipulated period for his sentencing was 42 months.
According to the police report, Grtis barged into an apartment in Las Vegas with a prostitute. He then proceeded to lock the roommate of the house up in the bathroom, at gunpoint. While he did this, his accomplice, the female prostitute whose name was revealed to be Shantrice Wilkerson, searched for money which they eventually carted away with. In addition to the money, they also stole 2 laptops and 2 iPads.
Artis’ son pleaded guilty to the robbery charges and so would have to face the full punishment meted by the judge. Luckily, the ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ crooner’s son didn’t serve more than 30 months of jail time.
Did he have a Good Relationship with his Parents?
Grtis’ relationship with his parents isn’t so easy to dictate as there’s little or no information about it. However, the young man wasn’t featured in any media upload on Josefa’s Instagram handle.
His father also rarely spoke about his family and wasn’t known to make posts about his personal life. The times the media was able to get information about Coolio’s family were in a few interviews.
However, while Grtis served his jail time, he got to share the same cell with his father.
In 2012, the rapper was arrested in Las Vegas for violating a routine traffic light. Although he was the passenger as his friend was driving, the father of 10 still got booked.
When his record was checked, it was revealed that Coolio had 2 active bench warrants for severally violating traffic rules. As a result, he was locked up in the same jail with his son, and his bail was set at $5, 850.
READ ALSO: Ralph Macfadyen is Matthew Macfadyens Son: Everything About Him
His Parents are both Dead
In 2022, Grtis Ivey suffered the loss of both of his parents. His father died at the age of 59 after passing out in the house of his friend. According to Coolio’s manager, the rapper died of cardiac arrest. This information was also confirmed by the one-time convict and oldest son Ivey II, Grtis.
Coolio did not leave a will before he died and this means that his 10 children would have to share his wealth. The rapper however left instructions on how to be mourned.
Artis Leon Ivey III instructed that no elaborate funeral be made on his behalf. He also wanted to be cremated and his ashes divided amongst his children who were to wear the remains in a necklace. The rest of his ashes were to be kept in an urn.
2 months after the death of Coolio, Grtis’ mother, Josefa Salinas also passed on.
When her ex-husband died, Salinas was unable to pay her last respect. According to her, she was fighting her own battles which may suggest that she was ill at the time.
She penned down a tribute to Coolio on Instagram, in October 2022. In the post, she proceeded to declare her continuous love for her ex-husband.
The mother of 4 of Artis Leon Ivey II’s children died in November 2022.
