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January 31, 2007

Bigmouths Strike Again: Hip Hop Hubris Edition

If it weren't for this person, most of America would not be listening to hip hop.

I was ridiculed for sampling. They made an issue of me—I was the guinea pig who made money from a sample so they came after me. I got sued. Now it's OK. Now they have sample-clearing companies. I put hip-hop in front of a lot of people's ears who never considered listening to hip-hop—basically mainstream America.
Guess the pioneer, take the jump.


(via MSNBC)

Posted at 7:55 PM in




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20 Comments

vanilla ice: hip-hop music pioneer, motocross racer, master of dialectic reason and the socratic debate.

a truly modern Renaissance man.

Posted by: chris at 01/31/07 8:09 PM | Reply
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obviously he doesnt know who biz markie is...

Posted by: annie onymous at 01/31/07 8:56 PM | Reply
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He was ridiculed because he claimed he DIDN'T sample "Under Pressure" on "Ice, Ice Baby." But considering sampling in hip-hop has most ALWAYS irked a few folks, and considering De La Soul and Biz Markie were two of the first to get sued, I think Mr. Ice is exaggerating.

Posted by: Paul H. at 01/31/07 9:05 PM | Reply
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He was ridiculed because he claimed he DIDN'T sample "Under Pressure" on "Ice, Ice Baby." But considering sampling in hip-hop has most ALWAYS irked a few folks, and considering De La Soul and Biz Markie were two of the first to get sued, I think Mr. Ice is exaggerating.

Posted by: Paul H. at 01/31/07 9:07 PM | Reply
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He also has a pet wallaroo.

Posted by: scott at 01/31/07 9:08 PM | Reply
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I'm not going to lie to you. I'm inclined to agree with vanilla ice. Now, before everyone starts hating and shit, hear me out. I will not claim that Vanilla Ice created the sample. Can we say Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, DJ Jazzy Jeff? Afrika Bambataa?! He sampled bloody kraftwerk back in the early 80s. Now, Vanilla Ice, with his legal battle and the fact that his song was everywhere, did bring hip-hop to an audience that would not have necessarily listened to it as it was seen as a primarily black form. I'm not going to claim that vanilla ice is a particularly memorable MC or any shit like that, but he was an fairly important step in the progression of hip-hop into the public conscious.

Posted by: Ace at 01/31/07 9:45 PM | Reply
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Who ridiculed Vanilla Ice?

Posted by: lex at 01/31/07 9:46 PM | Reply
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I agree with his quote...you can at least give him THAT much...

Posted by: C'mon Already! at 01/31/07 10:32 PM | Reply
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I thought it was Timbaland.

Posted by: Finchmeister at 01/31/07 10:58 PM | Reply
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rob van winkle strikes again

Posted by: jasonboot at 02/01/07 7:17 AM | Reply
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word to your mother....

Posted by: maya lucia at 02/01/07 8:35 AM | Reply
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I am fairly certain the biz markie suit preceded the vanilla ice suit by a year.

federline...fries!

Posted by: factcheckingfriend at 02/01/07 8:42 AM | Reply
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You guys have to listen to the album that he put out after "To The Extreme." There's "Mind Blowin'" where he turned himself into a weed-smokin' rapper. There's a song on there called "Now and Forever," and it's all about how he wants to sex up some girl. Actual line: "You're the type of girl who can make Vanilla Ice cream/ come here girl, and take a lick of this ice cream." Duder rhymes ice cream with ice cream. Fantastic. Seriously, it's a masterpiece.

Posted by: Matt at 02/01/07 9:00 AM | Reply
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It was NOT a sample! it was completely different. Queen's went: dunh duhn dunh du-duh da da. and Ice's went: dunh DUNH dunh dunh du-duh da da.

idiots.

Posted by: ev at 02/01/07 10:07 AM | Reply
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The Biz had the first major sample lawsuit case brought against him, Vanilla Ice brought the whole idea in the mainstream....but my guess is puffy just because that dude wants to take credit for everything and really became known as the guy who sampled (ie ruined) some classic songs

Posted by: JG at 02/01/07 10:12 AM | Reply
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i knew the answer to this before clicking over because, well, idolator posted it.

http://idolator.com/tunes/vanilla-ice/vanilla-ice-will-roo-the-day-he-compared-himself-to-diddy-232165.php

Posted by: nick at 02/01/07 11:48 AM | Reply
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Vanilla Ice brought pink-ass dookie hip-hop to mainstream culture thereby contributing to the sorry state of affairs we see today in hip-hop. The only credit I give him is having the guts (or lack there of) to use a good sample to carry his lame track and the deny he used it.

Posted by: samhadr at 02/01/07 11:49 AM | Reply
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Vanilla Ice brought pink-ass dookie hip-hop to mainstream culture thereby contributing to the sorry state of affairs we see today in hip-hop. The only credit I give him is having the guts (or lack there of) to use a good sample to carry his lame track and the deny he used it.

Posted by: samhadr at 02/01/07 11:51 AM | Reply
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Mainstream America had experienced hip-hop long before the Iceman cometh (The Beastie Boys and The Fresh Prince come to mind as tapes I had bought long before "To The Extreme" came out). But Vanilla Ice was the white guy in the right place at the right time, when "RAP" was first reaching mainstream America as a genre onto itself. Young MC, MC Hammer, De La Soul, Bel Biv Devoe, Public Enemy, all those groups and rappers all broke through at about the same time. But Vanilla Ice was white and cute and safe (whereas Kid 'N Play were menacing).

While he's not really wrong, I think it's kind of galling that he has the audacity to try to claim any cultural significance for his career. His success is the cultural equivalent of Pat Boone getting a hit with "Tutti Frutti" because Little Richard's version was too black. Vanilla Ice is the Pat Boone of rap.

Posted by: burndownthemissihttp://www.stereogum.com/archives/004478.html#moreon at 02/01/07 12:45 PM | Reply
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Funny, my first thought was broke-ass MC Hammer.

Posted by: Matt Jones at 02/01/07 1:10 PM | Reply
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