TORONTO — The song “Ice Ice Baby” made Vanilla Ice a global superstar — then a pop culture punchline — and 23 years later, he says he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
“I still get royalty cheques,” he said Tuesday during an appearance on Global’s The Morning Show. “They’re pretty good. No nickels and dimes.”
The performer, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, said he has embraced his musical rise and fall.
“I would rather be remembered for that one hit than anybody who has a whole bunch of hits that nobody remembers,” he said of “Ice Ice Baby,” which was the first hip hop song to top the Billboard chart.
“It’s very iconic and I’m very grateful for it today.”
But, Van Winkle, 45, is almost as well known for his rap sheet as he is for his rap.
He has twice been arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife Laura Giaritta (he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in the 2001 incident and the 2008 case was dropped). Van Winkle also faced firearms charges in 1991 after he threatened a homeless man and was busted for speeding and driving with an expired license in 2007.
There were also public battles with drugs that lead to a suicide attempt in 1994 involving an overdose of heroin.
“I’ve had a wild life. It’s been a roller coaster,” he admitted. “Plenty of bad times, plenty of regrets. But those are all positive things now. You can’t go back and change what happened yesterday but you can know what not to do.”
Van Winkle is starring in the new DiY series Vanilla Ice Goes Amish, which follows him as he lives and works with the Amish people of Ohio. It debuts Sunday.
“I knew nothing about the Amish at all other than they had these cool beards, they all kind of look the same and they drove buggies,” he said.
Van Winkle said he was surprised some of the Amish knew about his alter ego.
“They read the newspaper,” he said, adding that Amish people often visit the homes of Mennonites, who are allowed to have electricity.
“No joke, one Amish guy yodelled ‘Ice Ice Baby.'”
Van Winkle said Vanilla Ice Goes Amish was sparked by the success of The Vanilla Ice Project, a home renovation series now in its fourth season.
Although construction and reality television are his current passions, Van Winkle said he will still make music.
“I love music. It’s my diary,” he said. “I’m not leaving it behind.”
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