"Amish Paradise" is a 1996 single by parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the hip hop song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V. (which itself is a reworking of the Stevie Wonder song "Pastime Paradise").
Featured on the album Bad Hair Day, it turns the original "Gangsta's Paradise", in which the narrator laments his dangerous way of life, on its head by presenting an Amish man praising his relatively plain and uncomplicated existence.
Although Yankovic traditionally secures permission from the artists he parodies (even though this is not legally required, as parodies are covered under fair use guidelines), and was told by his record label that Coolio had given permission, Coolio later claimed that he had not given such permission (and in fact publicly expressed disgust saying that Yankovic's parody "desecrated the song").
This created a minor controversy, as speculation surfaced that Coolio had actually given permission but later claimed he had not in the fear that allowing the parody would not be seen as "cool", or that Yankovic's record label had lied to Yankovic in the hopes that the song would become popular.
Yankovic later stated on VH1's Behind the Music that he had written a sincere letter of apology to Coolio, which was never returned, and that Coolio never complained when he received his royalty check from proceeds of the song.
A series of photos taken at the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show suggests that Yankovic and Coolio had made amends.
On June 27, 2013 during an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit, Yankovic was asked "Is Coolio still upset about Amish Paradise?", to which Yankovic replied "Coolio's cool with me now. We ran into each other a few years ago and it's all water under the proverbial bridge."
Coolio stated in a 2014 interview that the decision to refuse the parody at the time was "stupid" and wished that someone on his management had stopped him, and considers the final parody to be "funny".
