Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle) was the first hip-hop single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, holding the position for one week starting November 3, 1990. The track samples the iconic bassline from Queen and David Bowie’s 1981 hit “Under Pressure” and incorporates a hook derived from the chant of the African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha.
Origins and Writing Van Winkle claims to have written the lyrics in 1983 at age 16 (or around 1988–1989 at age 21), drawing from a real-life experience in South Florida involving a drive-by shooting while cruising in a Ford Mustang 5.0. The song was initially recorded for his 1989 independent album Hooked and released as the B-side to his cover of “Play That Funky Music.” It gained traction only after a DJ in Georgia played the B-side instead of the A-side, leading to a major label deal with SBK Records and its inclusion on his 1990 breakthrough album To the Extreme.
Production and Legal Controversies The instrumental was produced by DJ Earthquake, who looped the bassline from “Under Pressure” and created the signature hook. Van Winkle initially denied sampling the song, claiming he had altered the melody, but later admitted to the sample, which resulted in Queen and Bowie receiving songwriting credits and royalties after legal threats. Another controversy involved Mario “Chocolate” Johnson, a Death Row Records affiliate who claimed co-writing credit; this led to negotiations with label co-founder Suge Knight, who allegedly secured a portion of the royalties to help bankroll Death Row Records.
[Intro]
Yo, VIP, let’s kick it
[Chorus]
Ice, ice, baby
Ice, ice, baby
[Verse 1]
All right, stop, collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something grabs ahold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
“Will it ever stop?” Yo, I don’t know
Turn off the lights, and I’ll glow
To the extreme, I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
Dance, go rush the speaker that booms
I’m killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom
Deadly, when I play a dope melody
Anything less than the best is a felony
Love it or leave it, you better gangway
You better hit bullseye, the kid don’t play
If there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
[Chorus]
Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
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[Verse 2]
Now that the party is jumpin’
With the bass kicked in and the Vegas are pumpin’
Quick to the point, to the point, no fakin’
Cookin’ MCs like a pound of bacon
Burnin’ ’em if you ain’t quick and nimble
I go crazy when I hear a cymbal
And a hi-hat with a souped up tempo
I’m on a roll, it’s time to go solo
Rollin’ in my 5.0
With the ragtop down so my hair can blow
The girlies on standby, wavin’ just to say hi
“Did you stop?” No, I just drove by
Kept on pursuin’ to the next stop
I busted a left and I’m headin’ to the next block
The block was dead, yo, so I continued to
A1A Beachfront Avenue
Girls were hot wearing less than bikinis
Rockman lovers driving Lamborghinis
Jealous ’cause I’m out getting mine
Shay with a gauge and Vanilla with a 9
Ready for the chumps on the wall
The chumps acting ill because they’re full of eight ball
Gunshots ranged out like a bell
I grabbed my 9, all I heard were shells
Falling on the concrete real fast
Jumped in my car, slammed on the gas
Bumper to bumper, the avenue’s packed
I’m trying to get away before the jackers jack
Police on the scene, you know what I mean?
They passed me up, confronted all the dope fiends
If there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
[Chorus]
Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla
[Verse 3]
Take heed ’cause I’m a lyrical poet
Miami’s on the scene just in case you didn’t know it
My town that created all the bass sound
Enough to shake and kick holes in the ground
‘Cause my style’s like a chemical spill
These are rhymes you can vision and feel
Conducted and formed, this is a hell of a concept
We make it hype and you want to step
With this, Shay plays on the fade
Slice like a ninja, cut like a razor blade
So fast, other DJs say, “Damn!”
If rhyme was a drug, I’d sell it by the gram
Keep my composure when it’s time to get loose
Magnetized by the mic while I kick my juice
If there was a problem yo I’ll solve it
Check out the hook while Deshay revolves it
[Chorus]
Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice, ice, baby
Vanilla Ice ice, baby
Vanilla Ice
[Outro]
Yo, man, let’s get out of here
Word to your mother
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold)
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold)
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold)
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold, too cold)
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold, too cold)
Ice, ice, baby (Too cold, too cold)
Ice
