History YMMV / VanillaIce

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Ice's second album, ''Mind Blowin','' saw him change his image to a harder, more 'gangsta' style, that emulated Music/CypressHill and Das EFX. Suffice to say, it failed pretty hard at reinventing him. The {{Narm}}-tacular ode to marijuana, "Roll 'Em Up," was the first single, and it did him no favors.

* OvershadowedByControversy: ''To the Extreme'', his debut album, is mostly remembered these days for having plagiarized other songs.

** He was also accused of plagiarizing "Under Pressure", and after several interviews in which he openly discussed sampling the song and talking about how he came up with the idea to sample the song, when one interviewer too many asked him about sampling the song, he decided to mess with the interviewer and said, "it's ''[[SarcasmMode not the same]]''. Theirs goes ding-diddy-ding-diddy-ding-ding. Ours goes ding-ding-ding-diddy-ding-ding." This comment was subsequently mistaken for [[SincerityMode an actual denial of sampling the song]], and he got attacked for "stealing" the song, though Music/DavidBowie himself defended Vanilla Ice, saying that in The60s, musicians used to take bits from older songs all the time[[note]]such as Music/LedZeppelin from {{blues}} artists like Music/MuddyWaters[[/note]]

** He was also accused of plagiarizing "Under Pressure", and after several interviews in which he openly discussed sampling the song and talking about how he came up with the idea to sample the song, when one interviewer too many asked him about sampling the song, he decided to mess with the interviewer and said, "it's ''[[SarcasmMode not the same]]''. Theirs goes ding-diddy-ding-diddy-ding-ding. Ours goes ding-ding-ding-diddy-ding-ding." This comment was subsequently mistaken for sincerity and he got attacked for "stealing" the song, though Music/DavidBowie himself defended Vanilla Ice, saying that in The60s, musicians used to take bits from older songs all the time[[note]]such as Music/LedZeppelin from {{blues}} artists like Music/MuddyWaters[[/note]]

** He was also accused of plagiarizing "Under Pressure", and after several interviews in which he openly discussed sampling the song and talking about how he came up with the idea to sample the song, when one interviewer too many asked him about sampling the song, he decided to mess with the interviewer and said, "it's ''[[SarcasmMode not the same]]''. Theirs goes ding-diddy-ding-diddy-ding-ding. Ours goes ding-ding-ding-diddy-ding-ding." This comment was subsequently mistaken for sincerity and he got attacked for "stealing" the song, though Music/DavidBowie himself defended Vanilla Ice, saying that in The60s, musicians used to take bits from older songs all the time,[[note]]such as Music/LedZeppelin from {{blues}} artists like Music/MuddyWaters[[/note]] despite widely acknowledging that "Ice Ice Baby" sampled "Under Pressure" prior to his sarcastic interview response later.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Many people dislike "Ice Ice Baby" because he blatantly sampled "Under Pressure." While many other rappers sample songs in their music, this is different than most instances of sampling for several reasons:
** 1. He tried to claim that it wasn't the same bassline as "Under Pressure" because they added one extra beat to it (ignoring the fact that the sample is otherwise identical to "under Pressure").
** 2. He hadn't gotten permission from Queen and David Bowie to ''use'' the sample.
** 3. "Under Pressure" was a major hit that came out less than a decade before "Ice Ice Baby", whereas most rappers tend to sample songs that are older and more obscure to the general public.

** The opening line to "Roll 'Em Up" goes "I need some herbs & spices, so I can feel nice'es!"

** A few critics got a chuckle out of "Steppin' so hard like a German Nazi" from "Play That Funky Music." The critics who didn't go straight to DudeNotFunny, that is.

* HilariousInHindsight: His song, "Ice Ice Baby", itself sampling Queen and David Bowie's bass notes from "Under Pressure", was sampled by [[https://youtu.be/cGl5F-Kfbx4?si=5BNAihOHmx8pTzw9 Tyga for Bops Goin Brazy]]. We guess the cycle of sampling will never end.

* HilariousInHindsight: His song, "Ice Ice Baby", itself sampling Queen and David Bowie's bass notes "Under Pressure", was sampled by [[https://youtu.be/cGl5F-Kfbx4?si=5BNAihOHmx8pTzw9 Tyga for Bops Goin Brazy]]. We guess the cycle of sampling will never end.

** A few critics got a chuckle out of "Steppin' so hard like a German Nazi" from "Play That Funky Music."

** As cheesy as "Ice Ice Baby" is, you can’t deny that it’s at least a fun song.

* SampledUp: "Ice Ice Baby", from Music/{{Queen}}'s "Under Pressure".

** When he [[https://twitter.com/vanillaice/status/556975824520617987 Tweeted a picture of himself in Egypt]] immediately memes started thanks to [[https://jojo.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla_Ice a certian vampire named after him]] who was also [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders found in Egypt]].

* FanCommunityNicknames: V.I.P's, Ninjas.

* MemeticMutation: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY This short interview snippet]] of Vanilla Ice eloquently explaining the sampling in "Ice Ice Baby" has become a popular response to blatant denials of plagiarism. "It's not the same!"

** On the [=Narm/Music=] page, a still from the video for "Ice Ice Baby" was the previous ''page image''.

** ''All'' of "I Love You," a cheesy love ballad rapped by Vanilla Ice, capped off by an extra-cheesy phone call skit at the end of the song. As Steve Huey of Allmusic put it, the song "makes LL Cool J's "I Need Love" sound like "Straight Outta Compton.""

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Though his ''Film/CoolAsIce'' performance was panned, he's earned appraisal for his performance in the Captain Hook in the Chatham, Kent Central Theatre pantomime production of ''Literature/PeterPan''.

* MemeticMutation: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY This short interview snippet]] of Vanilla Ice eloquently explaining the sampling in "Ice Ice Baby" has become a popular response to blatant denials of plagiarism.
** It's not the same!

** As cheesy as “Ice Ice Baby” is, you can’t deny that it’s at least a fun song.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Detractors simply will not cease complaining about how he sampled "Under Pressure." It's as though they forgot that [[DoubleStandard many other rappers sample classic songs]]! One only wonders what they said when Jedward did a mash up of Under Pressure & Ice Ice Baby.
** It might be because of the lame excuse he gave for it at the time of the song's release. When asked in an interview if he had sampled Under Pressure he acknowledged that they had, but then claimed that it wasn't the same bassline because of one miniscule change they made to it.[[note]]They just added one extra beat to it.[[/note]] It also doesn't help that he hadn't gotten Queen and David Bowie's permission to use it.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Detractors simply will not cease complaining about how he sampled "Under Pressure." It's as though they forgot that [[DoubleStandard many other rappers sample classic songs]]! One only wonders what they said when Jedward did a mash of up Under Pressure & Ice Ice Baby.

* DeaderThanDisco: Ice is such an infamous example of this trope that he's practically famous now ''for'' being this trope. Ice did make a huge impact with ''To The Extreme,'' but as others have pointed out, he ultimately proved that it's a lot more difficult to make a TeenIdol (especially a ''white'' teen idol) within the context of HipHop music, and once the controversies about his past happened, plus the gangsta movement making himself and guys like Music/MCHammer look tame, it was all over. He's managed to carve himself a fairly solid and dependable niche with juggalos, but as far as the mainstream is concerned, he's dead.

* HilariousInHindsight: He once went on a trip to Egypt, though this was [[Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure not the first time a Vanilla Ice was in egypt.]]

** As cheesy as “Ice Ice Baby” is, you can’t deny that it’s at least a fun song

* EarWorm: "Ice Ice Baby", as well as a great deal of his other songs.

** It might be because of the lame excuse he gave for it at the time of the song's release. When asked in an interview if he had sampled Under Pressure he acknowledged that they had, but then claimed that it wasn't the same bassline because of one miniscule change they made to it.[[note]]They just added one extra beat to it.[[/note]] It also doesn't help that he hadn't gotten Queen and David Bowie's permission to use it.

* CounterpartComparison: Vanilla Ice is often referenced alongside Music/MCHammer for good reason: They were both early [[TheNineties 90s]] mainstream rappers/dancers that were huge pop stars (and vilified as sellouts by the rap community) but became walking punchlines after their careers tanked and are now viewed by many as corny acts and mediocre rappers. Their [[SignatureSong signature songs]] both sampled preexisting popular songs, they both got into trouble for doing this without the original artist's permission, and their careers tanked largely because they both pretended to be something they weren't. Finally, they both had a unique sense of fashion that is routinely mocked and parodied today.