Presented is one of the actual AOL’s online music awards given to the artist Coolio in 1996 for being the best rap artist. The House of Blues hosted the February 5th ceremony in Los Angeles. The solid obelisk shaped award measures 12.5″ tall and has expected storage/handling wear from age. It features the central OMA (Online Music Awards) designation with a front plaque declaring the victor, “BEST RAP GROUP – ARTIST COOLIO”. The “1996” date is etched in it along with the AOL logo.

The OMAs, whose winners were chosen by AOL subscribers in 1996 and although staged and marketed as virtual it was essentially just a basic (albeit gimmicky) music award show.

Coolio was best known for his single “Gangsta’s Paradise” (1995), which won a Grammy Award, and was credited for changing the course of hip hop by bringing it to a wider audience.Other singles included “Fantastic Voyage” (1994), “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” (1996), and “C U When U Get There” (1997). He released nine albums, the first three of which achieved mainstream success: It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta’s Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997). Coolio first achieved recognition as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle. Coolio sold 4.8 million albums in the U.S.

Coolio Online Music Award