Vanilla Ice (real name Robert Matthew Van Winkle) is an American rapper and musician. Born October 31, 1967 in South Dallas, Texas.
He was raised by his mother Camille Beth (Dickerson). His father left when he was 4 years old and since then he has had many stepfathers. On his mother's side, he had German and English ancestry.
Youth of Robert Matthew Van Winkle
In his youth, Robert was a poor student who received poor grades and often skipped school. At the age of 18, when the boy was in the 10th grade, he dropped out of school. In the late 1980s, Matthew made a living washing cars.
He observed the culture and dances of some of his peers and later signed up for a local nightclub as a rap singer. He was himself in rap and dance and, of course, the audience quickly fell in love with him.
He was later nicknamed Vanilla Ice because he was white.
Vanilla Ice Success
In 1989, Matthew signed to SBK Records and released his first album, Hooked, which contained the single Play That Funky Music.
The single was not a significant success and the album Hooked received poor sales. Later, in 1990, a local DJ decided to play the song Ice Ice Baby.
Unlike Play That Funky Music, Ice Ice Baby was a huge success, with radio stations everywhere getting requests to play the song on the air. Matthew re-released the Hooked album, which included the song Ice Ice Baby.
Later, in 1991, Vanilla Ice decided to enter the film business. He made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Emerald Potion (1991) and then his first feature film Ice Cold (1991).
Robert raced motocross under his real name for two years and completely retired from the world of music. In 1994, he released another album, Mind Blowin', which introduced Ice's new image.
However, the sweet life did not last long, as SBK records went bankrupt. Matthew almost died from a drug overdose, he was helped to recover by one of his friends. He later married and had two children.
For the next four years, Vanilla Ice focused on family life, although he was still on the show. Ice then returned in 1998 with his next album, Hard To Swallow, his first nu metal release, produced by Ross Robinson. The album was far from his earlier work.
There was even a rap metal version of Ice Ice Baby called Too Cold. The album sold 100 copies and was well received by the "fans", making Ice a respected person again.
It was followed by Bi-Polar, Platinum Underground and WTF which combined nu metal, rap rock and hip hop music with other genres including country and reggae.
In 2011, he recorded the debut single Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby, a combination of two songs. He also starred in Adam Sandler's comedy Bye Bye Dad (2012). At the 2011 Juggalos meeting, it was announced that Vanilla Ice had signed to Psychopathic Records.
Along with the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass and House of Pain, Ice was one of the first white rappers to achieve significant success. Chuck D. once said that Matthew had a big "breakthrough": "He broke through in the middle of the South, in the southern region of Texas, into something like a local hip-hop culture."
In 1991, the group 3rd Bass released the single Pop Goes the Weasel, in the lyrics of the songs Ice is compared to Elvis Presley.
Style and influence
Beginning in the late 2000s, Ice's live performances featured a mix of new, rock and tech-influenced material, as well as old-school hip-hop. Ice performed with a live drummer and DJ, and occasionally sprayed his audience with bottled water.
Ice's performances often featured an inflatable grim reaper balloon, a dancer wearing a clown mask, and confetti thrown into the audience.
Describing his performances, the performer said: “It's high energy, stage diving, pyrotechnics. It's a crazy party atmosphere."
Ice has said that his musical style was influenced by underground music rather than the mainstream. He also considered himself an influence on hip hop and funk artists such as Funkadelic, Rick James, Roger Troutman, Egyptian Lover and Parliament.
Robert is a big fan of 1950s and 1960s reggae. and the work of Bob Marley, and said that he likes Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot and Systemof a Down.
Matthew occasionally played drums and keyboards. Robert referred to his mainstream music as "overground" rather than underground as he tried to make danceable beats and cut out swear words so that the songs could reach a wider audience.
Vanilla Ice Legal Trouble
On August 8, 1988, Matthew was arrested in South Dallas for illegal drag racing. On June 3, 1991, he was arrested in Los Angeles for threatening a homeless man with a firearm, James N. Gregory.
Gregory approached Robert's car outside the supermarket and tried to sell him a silver chain. Robert and his bodyguard were charged with three crimes involving the use of firearms.
The personal life of an artist
In 1991, Robert dated Madonna for eight months. In 1997, he married Laura Giaritta, they have two daughters: Dusti Rain (born in 1997) and Keelee Breeze (born in 2000).
