Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas and raised there and in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success following the 1990 release of his best-known hit "Ice Ice Baby".[6]
"Rob Van Winkle" redirects here. For the short story, see Rip Van Winkle.
Ice released his debut album, Hooked, on the independent Ichiban Records before signing a contract with SBK Records, a record label of the EMI Group, which released a reformatted version under the title To the Extreme; it became the fastest-selling hip hop album of all time[7] and "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts. Followed by the live album Extremely Live (1991), Ice made a cameo appearance on the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) where he performed "Ninja Rap", which he co-wrote.[8] He was soon offered and starred in his own film, Cool as Ice (1991), which included the single "Cool as Ice (Everybody Get Loose)" with Naomi Campbell; the film itself was a box office failure.[9]
His fast rise in popularity was quickly marred by media controversies about his background,[10] and criticism about his appeal of hip hop to a mainstream audience alongside MC Hammer.[11] Ice later regretted his business arrangements with SBK, who had also published fabricated biographical information without his knowledge.[12] Ice's second studio album, Mind Blowin' (1994), featured a major image change but was commercially unsuccessful.[13] Following rap rock performances in the underground scene and playing in a local grunge band, Ice released the dark nu metal album Hard to Swallow (1998), followed by the independently-released Bi-Polar (2001) and Platinum Underground (2005).[14][15][16]
In the 2000s, Ice began appearing on television reality shows including The Surreal Life.[17] In 2010, Ice began hosting The Vanilla Ice Project on DIY Network[18] which ran for nine seasons until 2019. In 2022 he started another home improvement television program, The Vanilla Ice Home Show.[19] He is also involved in motocross racing and real estate.
Early life
Robert Matthew Van Winkle was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 31, 1967.[20] Van Winkle has never known his biological father; he was given the family name of the man his mother was married to at the time of his birth.[21] When Van Winkle was four, his mother divorced. Afterward, he grew up moving between Dallas and Miami,[22] where his new stepfather worked at a car dealership.[21] Van Winkle was affected by hip hop at an early age, saying "It's a very big passion of mine because I love poetry. I was just heavily influenced by that whole movement and it's molded me into who I am today."[23] Between the ages of 13 and 14, Van Winkle practiced breakdancing, which led to his friends nicknaming him "Vanilla", as he was the only one in the group who was not black.[24][25] Although he disliked the nickname, it stuck. Shortly afterward, Van Winkle started battle rapping at parties and because of his rhymes, his friends started calling him "MC Vanilla". However, when he became a member of a breakdance troupe, Van Winkle's stage name was "Vanilla Ice" combining his nickname "Vanilla" with one of his breakdance moves, "The Ice".[26] When Ice's stepfather was offered a better job in Carrollton, Texas, he moved back to Texas with his mother. When Ice was not learning to ride motorbikes, he was dancing as a street performer with his breakdancing group, now called The Vanilla Ice Posse. Ice wrote "Ice Ice Baby" at the age of 16, basing its lyrics on a weekend he had with friend and disc jockey D-Shay in South Florida.[27] The lyrics describe Ice and Shay on a drug run that ends in a drive-by shooting while praising Ice's rhyming skills.[28] He attended R. L. Turner High School.[29]
Career
Early career (1985–1989)
In 1985, he was focusing all of his energy on motocross, winning three championships.[30] After breaking his ankle during a race, Ice was not interested in racing professionally for some time, using his spare time to perfect his dance moves and creating his own while his ankle was healing. Ice used his beatboxing and breakdancing skills as a street performer with his friends at local malls during this time.[31] One evening he visited City Lights, a South Dallas nightclub, where he was dared to go on stage by his friend Squirrel during an open-mic. He won the crowd over and was asked by City Lights manager John Bush if he wanted to perform regularly, which he accepted. Ice would be joined on stage by his disc jockeys D-Shay and Zero, as well as Earthquake, the local disc jockey at City Lights. The Vanilla Ice Posse or The V.I.P. would also perform with Ice on stage.[24] As a performer for City Lights, Ice opened up for N.W.A, Public Enemy, The D.O.C., Tone Lōc, 2 Live Crew, Paula Abdul, Sinbad and MC Hammer.[32]
In January 1987, Ice was stabbed five times during a scuffle outside of City Lights. After spending ten days in the hospital, Ice signed a contract with the owner of City Lights, Tommy Quon, and his management company, Ultrax.[33][34] Two years later, Ice would open for EPMD, Ice-T, Stetsasonic, and Sir Mix-A-Lot on the Stop the Violence Tour.[35][36] Quon saw commercial potential in Ice's rapping and dancing skills.[22][37] Buying studio time with Quon's earnings from City Lights, they recorded songs that had been perfected on stage by Ice and his acquaintances with various producers, including Khayree. The two year production was distributed by an independent record company called Ichiban Records in 1989.[38] "Play That Funky Music" was released as the album's first single, with "Ice Ice Baby" appearing as the B-side.[34][39] Tommy Quon personally sent out the single to various radio stations around the US, but the single was seldom played and when it was, it did not get the reaction Quon was hoping for. When disc jockey Darrell Jaye in Georgia played "Ice Ice Baby" instead of the single's A-side, the song gained a quick fanbase and other radio stations followed suit.[34] Quon financed $8,000 for the production of a music video for "Ice Ice Baby",[40][41] which received heavy airplay by The Box, increasing public interest in the song.[42]
Mainstream success (1990–1992)
On the basis of Ice's good looks and dance moves, Public Enemy tried to convince their producer, Hank Shocklee, to sign Ice to Def Jam,[43] but Ice later signed a contract with SBK Records in 1990.[44] During MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour, Ice served as an opening act.[9] SBK remixed and re-recorded Hooked under the title To the Extreme. The reissue contained new artwork and music.[45] According to Ice, SBK paid him to adopt a more commercial, conventional appearance. This led Ice to later regret his business agreements with SBK.[46]
To the Extreme became the fastest selling hip hop album of all time,[47] spending sixteen weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200[48] and selling eleven million copies.[49] SBK Record executive Monte Lipman stated that he received calls from radio stations reporting over 200 phone calls requesting "Ice Ice Baby". SBK wanted Ice on the road as soon as possible. MC Hammer, an old acquaintance from his club days, had Ice on as an opening act on his tour.[50] Reviews of To the Extreme were mixed. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Mim Udovitch gave the album a B, citing "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music", "Dancin'" and "It's a Party" as the album's highlights.[51] Robert Christgau gave the album a C− rating, writing that Ice's "suave sexism, fashionably male supremacist rather than dangerously obscene, is no worse than his suave beats".[52] Criticizing the technique and style of Vanilla Ice, Allrovi reviewer Steve Huey wrote:
