Robert Matthew Van Winkle born October 31, , 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 release of his best-known hit " Ice Ice Baby ". 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.
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. In the s, Ice began appearing on television reality shows including The Surreal Life. Afterward, he grew up moving between Dallas and Miami, [ 22 ] where his new stepfather worked at a car dealership. I was just heavily influenced by that whole movement and it's molded me into who I am today.
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".
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.
Turner High School. In , he was focusing all of his energy on motocross, winning three championships. Ice used his beatboxing and breakdancing skills as a street performer with his friends at local malls during this time. He won the crowd over and was asked by City Lights manager John Bush if he wanted to perform regularly, which he accepted.
