European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Entertainment by James Bernard new York times Ltd everyone seems to hate Vanilla ice a except the seven million or so fans who ignited his rocket ride to the top of the pop charts. With much verve and a bit of glee the Ress has combed his past uncovering inconsistencies in is official biography. To Many potential fans he s too teeny bopper to be Cool. Even Macho Auto buffs laughed when Vanilla ice was near the first in line to plunk Down More than $1 70,000 for a shiny Acura Nix sports  perhaps most stinging rap purists refer to Vanilla ice As the Quot Elvis of rap Quot a White performer who has capitalized on the most influential Black music to emerge in the last 20  ice shrugs off the comparison. Quot i Don t know who wrote it in the first place Quot he says. Quot i m not Elvis Presley i m Vanilla ice i Don t know anything about him except that he made movies and was a superstar. I never bought any of his  but influence is not the question his place in the pop world is. In a society perceived As indifferent and even hostile to minorities rappers like Krs one and ice cube Are the voice of an increasingly frustrated Young Black America Vanilla ice on the other hand offers easily digestible raps about girls cars and dancing. Aficionados know that Vanilla ice cannot match the cleverness of . Cool j., the verbal gymnastics of Brand nubian the humor of digital underground. But Vanilla ice is White sexy palatable in the suburbs and thus highly marketable. Where Many critically acclaimed Black rappers struggle for exposure Vanilla ice 2 2, has managed to become a huge Star since the release of his first major Label album to the extreme in september. His debut single ice ice baby was the first rap song to reach no. 1 on the pop singles Chart. By november he had bumped . Hammer from his 21-weekoccupation of the top pop album Slot and he has held that position since. Moreover Vanilla ice is in the midst of his first major tour As a Headliner and has signed an endorsement Deal. With coca cola. His record company wbk is Rushing a follow up while to the extreme is still hot. The new record to be released in april features live renditions of his hits and five previously unrecorded songs including satisfaction which yes heavily borrows from the rolling stones Standard. The rapper had wanted to include the number on to the extreme but the stones organization walked. No one s Balking n6w at Vanilla ice s ability to sell records and generate royalties. Charles Koppelman head of wbk records and pictures is banking literally on the Hope that Vanilla ice Quot is an incredibly magnetic Star who can be As important a film Star As he is a music  after filming a Cameo for the sequel to  turtles Vanilla ice signed a million Dollar contract with wbk pictures formed specifically for his project. Although a script has not been chosen the rapper will film an action adventure this Spring. Because of the Speed and scope of his Success Vanilla ice has been subject to considerable scrutiny. The firestorm started on nov. 18, when a front Page article in the Dallas morning news reported inaccuracies in the life Story he had been feeding the press. A a the revelations echoed and re examined by Many others exposed Vanilla ice the Tough talking Quick footed rapper who was supposedly raised in Miami s mean streets As Robert Van Winkle who spent most of his High school years in an affluent Dallas suburb the facts surfaced around the same time that the pop duo Milli Vanilli confessed to not singing on their own Multi Platinum album. In Many minds Vanilla ice with his sculpted hair and cheekbones was the same kind of pretty pop figurehead. Although his publicist has since quietly revised his _ official biography Vanilla ice is unrepentant. Was his upbringing really rough and Tumble Quot i never said anything to beef up my background Quot he maintains. Quot i m from the streets. That s where i Learned to dance and rap. It should be obvious to anybody s Eye that a White Guy doing what i m doing had to be exposed to the  what about the discredited claim that he attended Tje same Miami High school As Luther Luke Campbell of the 2 live Crew Quot i never said i went to the same High school As Luke. That s impossible. He s five or six years older. Than i am. I did say that i went to one of the schools he  a it a a. About the National Motocross championships of which the press can find no evidence Quot i won three National champions Quot he insists. A. A Vanilla ice bristles at the suggestion that the Media has put him on the defensive. Any rapper but especially a White rapper needs a Quot Street Quot credibility that Vanilla ice s suburban upbringing does t automatically Confer. Quot it does t matter Quot he says then manages to invoke and mangle two of rap s most tired phrases at the same time Quot it Ain t where you re from it s w Here you re at. Bottom line Don t believe the hype Quot but there s profit to be made in All this Contention a Vanilla dictated but ghost written autobiography ice by ice. His memoirs attempt to clarify the Quot where he s from Quot part a not so Long journey from his birth in Miami 22 years ago to his rebirth As big time rapper and soon to be movie Star. But the Quot where he s at Quot question May be. More relevant. A. A Vanilla ice wants to avoid being characterized As a rap Wannabe who is Well Vanilla and he is proud that audiences chant Quot go White boy Quot at concerts. It Quot my neighbourhood was predominantly Black my school was predominantly Black. I got go White boy go White boy from City lights a totally Black club in Dallas. No other White person would set foot in that club but i performed there every night. My Black friends in seventh. Grade called me Vanilla. I got it from  a Vanilla ice did emerge from a Black scene his manager Tommy Quon discovered him working the crowds  City lights. Earthquake Vanilla ice s deejay and co writer was the club s House disc jockey and its doormen big e. And Chilly Are now his bodyguards. Ice s background dancers All Black were recruited from City lights. Hence his touring company re creates the club scene from which he blossomed. A but Vanilla ice is no longer in that environment according to his Road manager John Bush the year end slew of club dates a warm up to  current tour Drew an overwhelmingly White suburban crowd Many of whom May not Oyvin any other rap albums. A at City lights chants of Quot go White boy Quot May have sounded like a refreshing acceptance of his difference in the rap world but the same words of encouragement ring eerily when the audience is 90 percent White. These not so Subtle racial dynamics make the rapper uncomfortable. Quot being White helps me i guess but i wish it did to he says. He credits his meteoric Rise to the promotional muscle of his record company Quot my being White had something to do with it but not As much As they say it does. It. Depends on the contract you sign with the record a a company. They can make you no. 1 if they push you. Enough.&Quot/. A Awell it s not that simple. Recent developments in the hip hop world made the emergence of a sexy White rapper with such huge marketing potential virtually inevitable. Innovative artists like Public enemy Boogie Down productions and the Jungle Brothers have Little Opportunity to reach a larger audience ice ice baby was played on radio stations that had never presented rap before which Mahy Edtice interpreted As a sign of racism. Critics say that less challenging rappers like . Hammer and Vanilla ice Are monopolizing air time indeed their music May be the Only rap heard by the mainstream making them More novel and marketable. On stage Vanilla ice reaches out to audience members raps enthusiastically and has perfected his stage c Hatter it s no wonder his videos put his performances tront and Center. He is now pop s reigning sex Symbol. When he pumps his Pelvis which is often the audience largely teen age and female screams even louder. He frequently coaxes them to Call his name and they do so without hesitation. With a huge Grin he soaks up the v adoration As if to bolster himself trom the naysayers. The questions will remain but so w ill Vanilla ice a at least for a while. Why Vanilla ice is getting a bum rap Vanilla ice displays the a trophies he won As new a artist in the pop and rap categories at the recent american music awards. Stripes Magazine february 14, 1991