There are actually far better contenders for the position that Vanilla Ice now occupies: That of the least-regarded (critically, anyway) superstar of the pre-Alternative '90s. MC Hammer comes pirouetting to mind, for one. Where're his props lately? Busted out from under him. But Oho! Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer are now collected on the dual Back to Back Hits compilation--which is bargain-priced and supersedes To the Extreme. It's by far the better value. "Ice Ice Baby" is not a bad song--it's just a Queen song without enough Queen. But then, take a sweep at today's hip-hop arena and tell me the man (Van Winkle will be the name on his death certificate) wasn't prescient. In the end, he may be remembered as the proto-Puff Daddy. --Gavin McNett Amazon.com
Why do so many people hate this guy? He isn't a novelty act. He's a true rap genius, a visionary. He's like the Chad Kroger of rap- which is a great compliment, considering Nickleback are one of the best bands of all-time! I wish he wasn't a one-hit wonder, though. I'd love to hear more awesome albums by him!
November 10, 2008 |  | One-Hit Wonder Syndrome, Part 2 |  |
Thanks to this album, Vanilla Ice is a common household name for a negative force on hip-hop music. Nowadays almost every white rapper (at least the mainstream ones) is compared to this guy, even though they're possibly more talented than V-Ice.
This album is just a re-release of the majority of the tracks on his 1989 independent release debut album, Hooked. The album also only has one hit that Vanilla Ice is remembered by, and that is "Ice Ice Baby". It's obvious that it lifted the sample from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" without permission, yet it's completely denied. If you've heard that track, you'll get an idea of what the rest of this album consists of: awful rapping over sub-par beats, some of these beats being obvious samples. "Play That Funky Music" ring a bell? "Dancing Machine"? V-Ice sampled them on this album and dragged the quality down to the black hole of music.
If you want to listen to this album, there's definitely a couple of copies in your closest bargain bin. That way you can listen to the rise of Caucasian hip pop that spawned Mark Wahlberg's short spanned career as Marky Mark. Hilarious at best, downright terrible and stupid at worst.
September 25, 2008Ha ha, bwah ha ha ha ah ah, ha... Oh god, look at the little suit its wearing, oh no, oh god ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... ha ha ha, gwerf, nerk, ha, hoo, ha, oh lord... ha ha ha ha ha ha...
July 30, 2008| | | Everyone gets their 15 minutes..... | |
I betch ya a lot of people have this CD but won't admit to it. I was a DJ when this was big, and my boss was too cheap to buy it. Well, to be more precise, the cassette single of Ice Ice Baby was outselling the song, so the record company pulled it so people would buy the album (greed in the record companies existed long before digital downloading and MP3 files). I told him to buy the album, he didn't want to, so I did. The album is pretty much a bore, with Vanilla doing what rappers seem to do, tell us how great he is at rappin'. But that's it. At least 2 Live Crew and The Geto Boys made me laugh a bit, and Ice-T has some good political stuff, along with N.W.A., but Robby Van Winkle (his real name) really didn't have much. The only time I liked him is when he beat the crap out of an MTV studio during the burning of the video Ice Ice Baby (scaring the hosts of Jon Stewart, Denis Leary, and a cackling Janeane Garofalo, who looked drunk during the taping. I thought it was hilarious, because it scared the tar out of the hosts, but that they were the ones who egged Vanilla on, and when he acted upon their taunting, they flipped out). The Ice Ice Baby song is slightly catchy, but the riff/beat was stolen from Under Pressure by David Bowie & Queen. Vanilla pretty much dried up after this, occasionally appearing at gigs and reality shows. Let's hope MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice hook up and go on tour.
December 2, 2007 | | sometimes I like some white chocolate to go along with my extra-dark mocha | |
Vanilla Ice was the first rap artist to have a #1 Single on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart ("Ice Ice Baby".) He was also the first white rap artist that the MSM ever saw. He hooked everyone for a minute but not for long after that. I suppose it was only a matter of time for everyone to turn on him, because in the end society is always afraid of something that is a little different or a little off the beaten path. And boy did they turn in droves. Vanilla Ice became synonymous with "loser" and "no talent." Why is that? I think he is much more talented than someone like Eminem. I don't get how that little bleach-blonde twit sold any CDs. Maybe it all has to do with marketability and with the illusion that the record companies create? Personally, I preferred Hammer. But, Vanilla Ice still had a lot more talent than many of today's rappers. If you have an open-mind and like different kinds of music (and don't care what other's think!!) then pick up this CD!
October 25, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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