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Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), best known as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper known for the 1990 smash hit "Ice Ice Baby." One of the first white rappers to find mainstream success, Van Winkle's popularity was short lived. He has continued to make music, but has not recaptured the levels of fame he enjoyed earlier in his career. It was widely reported that Van Winkle had been threatened and assaulted by Death Row Records CEO, who forced Van Winkle to sign the publishing rights to him. Van Winkle stated that Knight took him "to the balcony and talked to me, but it's funny how the story gets turned around...I'm wondering how that story got changed around". In 1996, he appeared on the Bloodhound Gang track "Boom" under his real name, which led to a moderate revival in popularity, and thus the first new Vanilla Ice material in four years. SBK had signed him to a new deal, and Hard to Swallow was released in 1998 and produced by Ross Robinson, known for his work with bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit. The album was radically different from Van Winkle's previous works, as it was centered around nu metal rather than hip hop. Guest artists on the album included Doug Ardito of Puddle of Mudd and Scott Borland. Though the record eventually went gold, it soon slipped from public consciousness.
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