Nearly 20 years after he saw his career have a meteoric rise and fall, Rob Van Winkle is embracing “Ice Ice Baby.” It’s a promising sign: Recognizing you have a problem is one of the first steps to recovery.
Vanilla Ice has spent many years shunning his past. In the 2004 version of the reality show “The Surreal Life,” Van Winkle made it clear he wanted nothing to do with “Ice Ice Baby.” He had a violent reaction whenever any costar attempted to bring up his massive hit song – which also ruined his longevity. In fact, his co-stars were pleasantly surprised one night when the rapper actually performed the song at a karaoke bar.
Now he’s not only performing “Ice Ice Baby” again, he’s made the smart move of making fun of himself.
Ice was recently featured at Virgin Mobile’s Right Music Wrongs, an online project where visitors can decide the greatest musical affronts of pop history. Van Winkle, on video, gives a sincere apology to the world for “Ice Ice Baby,” then proceeds to call people in the phone book, asking for forgiveness. He even takes to a street corner to apologize to passing traffic.
But the big moment came in mid-October when South African beer Castle Lite debuted an ad featuring Vanilla Ice in full, early ’90s regalia, dancing through “Ice Ice Baby” in the middle of a swanky dinner party.
The lead actor in the ad, Sekoati Tusban, was a fan of Ice since he was a young child, according to one Castle Lite-friendly PR news release. Neither Tusban nor the rest of the cast were aware of Vanilla Ice’s participation in the commercial until the day of the shoot, according to the press release.
It’s a promising sign, considering how many artists have avoided career advancements because they couldn’t address their pasts. Could it be long, now, before Sinead O’Connor tears up a picture of herself?