Coolio cookbook a holiday bestseller

​Rapper Coolio's new cookbook "Cookin' With Coolio:" 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price," described by the New York Times as a "mind-bending, read-out-loud (but not in front of the kids) cookbook," came out a few weeks ago. According to The Daily Beast, the book, which features "Ghetto Gourmet" recipes like "Drunk-Ass Chicken" and chapters like "How to Become a Kitchen Pimp," has already shot up to best-seller status in Amazon's Soul Food category.

While the competition in that category can't be all that stiff, the cookbook itself doesn't seem all that bad, and Coolio himself -- corny catchphrases and gimmicky, sexed-up recipe names aside -- comes off as a not-unclassy dude. The Daily Beast reports that he got into cooking after his mother's death, out of a desire to recreate her recipes. Then, "After cooking for his friends and family, Coolio decided that the African-American community could benefit from learning healthier recipes." The book itself sprung out of the success of a video series Coolio did (derided by one TV critic as "inner-city minstrelsy") on cooking in the last couple of years.

Here's a clip from Coolio's appearance on the "Today" show promoting the book.

Favorite line: "It's fried but it's healthy." Also: "Shakazulu!" WTF.