In 1991, I had a huge poster of Vanilla Ice in my bedroom, and I had BOTH his cassettes (one was a remix album, remember?). Although I don't remember actually liking him that much. My best friend at the time was like, so in love with him, so I guess I was too in solidarity. I actually found him much too aggressive, thuggish, and mean-looking. I much preferred the soft-spoken, polite androgynous Nelson brothers (that's a whole other story).These days, Vanilla (we're on a first name basis) seems to have more of a sense of humor about himself. He appeared on The Surreal Life, a reality show for has-been celebrities, and has even emerged making fun of indie rock. Good for him! If we can't laugh at ourselves, everyone else wins! His website glaringly informed me that he is now taking a foray into home makeover shows. And that he has not changed his website since 1997. Geocities much?
One thing he was DEAD serious about was parlaying his rapping fame into a movie career with the epic love story Cool As Ice. Vanilla plays, well, himself, a nomadic rapper/dancer who falls for a rich Daddy's Girl in a Romeo and Juliet scenario. Oh, and he sings the title song, which features NAOMI CAMPBELL. This is when people still loved her and she wasn't attacking her assistants.
