How Cool is Vanilla Ice?

Surprises about Vanilla Ice's music and his life are revealed in two never-heard 1990s interviews with the "Ice Ice Baby" rapper - - - - - -  Vanilla Ice was – and still is – a big deal.  And, chances are, you don't know the real story. Thirty-six years after his song "Ice Ice Baby" became the very first rap to reach #1 on the Billboard singles chart, it remains a massive hit on Spotify.  And, partly because of his controversial role in Trump's Freedom 250 concert (and the revival of his song, both by Olympic hockey fans and MAGA supporters of ICE), Vanilla Ice continues to make news. When Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice went from debt-ridden Texas rapper to instant world-wide fame with his 1990 album To The Extreme, PEOPLE magazine had to get involved.  So I met him for an interview on the 45th floor of a Manhattan hotel. He famously pulled down his pants to show me his scars from a knife fight, a detail that Jim Carrey later lampooned in his "White White Baby" parody on In Living Color. You can hear Vanilla Ice discuss his life and career in excerpts from my 1990 and 1993 interview tapes, which I saved all these years and share for the first time in this episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out. As it turns out, Vanilla Ice's rap skills were more advanced than I remembered, and his life story (including complicated relationships with his parents) was emotional and complex. Later in life, he showed admirable versatility as he faced obstacles in his music career, creating "The Vanilla Ice Project," a TV show in which he renovated and flipped houses for nine seasons. Music writer David Browne, the author of many music biographies and a contributing writer to Rolling Stone, is – yes, it's true -- quoted on the Vanilla Ice Wikipedia page. So I'm very lucky that he joined me to assess Ice's legacy and to help me decide what to do with everything I saved from my Ice escapades. Want to sample Vanilla Ice's music videos, watch him discuss the Trump concert in news clips, or watch Jim Carrey's parody? Find it all at throwitoutpodcast.com. Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com    Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list    Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it   Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.