Vanilla Ice shot from total obscurity to superstar fame so fast that it’s hard to fully appreciate. And in fact, he became the first rapper ever to reach one cultural milestone of success: Ice’s hit single “Ice Ice Baby” was the first rap song ever to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as noted by Billboard. Being as Ice was white and was performing music that had originated within the Black community, his sudden success drew ire even as he won millions of fans among the public at large. But what led to the sudden success? Decent talent, lots of charisma, and some plain old luck, as it happens.
According to Biography, Ice had taken to break dancing and rapping seriously enough by the late 1980s that he was appearing regularly at Dallas area nightclubs, had gained a manager, Tommy Quon, and became frontman of a group calling itself the Vanilla Ice Posse, or VIP. While considered a better dancer than rapper, Ice nonetheless rapped on a number of songs, including those added to an album the group released in 1989 called “Hooked.” One fateful day, a record DJ at an Atlanta radio station meant to play the song “Play that Funky Music” from the A-side of the album, but inadvertently played a B-side song called “Ice Ice Baby,” says the Dallas Observer.
The song was an overnight sensation in the Atlanta area. Soon, “Ice Ice Baby” spread beyond Atlanta, then beyond the South, soon gaining notoriety nationwide. Along with topping charts, the song drove sales. The album “Hooked” was re-released as “To the Extreme” with “Ice Ice Baby” as its A-side anchor song, and soon, “To the Extreme” went platinum. Then double platinum. Then triple and beyond.
