THIS WEEK COOLIO’S COOKING FOR LOVE ON OXYGEN

NEW YORK – November 3, 2008 – After his girlfriend Mary dumps him, Coolio is on the prowl for a new lady. So when his buddy offers to hook him up on a blind date with a “hot-ass mama,” he heads straight for the kitchen to whip up one of his signature specialties, “Soul Rolls,” for a romantic dinner. But it’s another kind of cooking—the kind that takes place outside the kitchen—that Coolio has in mind. While chopping onions, he elicits revulsion from his kids as he explains, “If I can get ‘em to eat my food, I can get ‘em to do other stuff.”

When the statuesque Trion arrives, Coolio’s eyes nearly pop out of his head as he escorts her into the kitchen where he demonstrates his culinary wizardry, while freestyle rapping for her. Meanwhile in their room, the girls—who are none too pleased to be quarantined all evening while Coolio makes his moves—hedge their bets that whoever dad’s date is, she probably won’t be around for long. The discussion quickly turns to the age difference as Brandi and Artisha argue about whether Trion, 28, is too young for their 44-year-old dad. “Daddy’s the black Hugh Hefner,” says Artisha. Eventually their curiosity gets the best of them and they decide to crash their dad’s party, much to Coolio’s dismay. No matter how good his cooking may be, it looks like dating with a houseful of kids is not exactly a recipe for love.