Robert Van Winkle (born October 31, 1968), better known as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, known today for the single "Ice Ice Baby" and the controversy that ensued after it became known that his hardcore gangsta past was entirely manufactured to drive up sales of the single and album, To the Extreme. He eventually faced legal problems, as "Ice Ice Baby" sampled the Queen and David Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure" without permission. He was also, notably, one of the few famous white rappers.

"Ice Ice Baby" topped the charts beginning late 1990 (see 1990 in music), and he began filming Cool as Ice. The film was a failure commercially and critically, as he had been overexposed by the time it was released. For his performance, Ice won the "Worst New Star" award at the 1991 Golden Raspberry Awards. He also had performed in the 1991 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.

Ice returned to music in 1994 (see 1994 in music) with Mind Blowin', which adopted a brand new, Cypress Hill-influenced sound. The album quickly fell off the charts, as did 1998's Hard to Swallow (see 1998 in music), which used a new gangsta rap sound and image. His latest album was 2001's Bipolar, a nu metal-style record that did little to rekindle public interest.

In 2004, Vanilla Ice starred in the second season of The Surreal Life on The WB. This brought some interest in him from the public, and a website, www.vanillaice.com, was launched. He was cast in the film The Helix...Loaded , a parody of The Matrix. He currently lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Vanilla Ice made a brief return to the newsreel when his pet wallaroo, Bucky, and pet goat, Pancho, escaped from his Port St. Lucie, Florida home. After wandering around local streets for over a week, the animals were caught, and returned to their rightful owner. Ice had to pay a $220 fine for expired pet tags, and an undisclosed fine for the escape of the animals.

Vanilla Ice also appeared in a provocative photo with Madonna in her book Sex.

External Links

• Vanillarama: The Internet's Largest Collection of Vanilla Ice Links