Albums: WTF, Platinum Underground, Bi-Polar

Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper and home improvement television personality. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, he released his debut album, 'Hooked', in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, which then released a reformatted version of the album under the title 'To the Extreme'. His single "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts and he was one of the very few successful white rappers of his time joining the ranks of the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass, and House of Pain.

As a result of his success, he was the subject of criticism from other hip hop musicians. In late 1990, he began an eight-month relationship with Madonna, and appeared in photographs for her book, Sex. At the height of his popularity, SBK licensed a 12" doll which was made by THQ.

In January 1991, he was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He next branched out into the film industry with an appearance in the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, where he performed "Ninja Rap" and later said it was "one of the coolest experiences" of his career. Soon after he had the leading role as John "Johnny" Van Owen in the film Cool as Ice which was nominated for several categories at the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards and won the award for "Worst New Star".

While on tour in 1991, he learned that SBK had instigated the publication of a book, Ice by Ice: The Vanilla Ice Story in His Own Words, written by Quon and attributed to Van Winkle, which detailed false biographical information, including claims that he had attended school with Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew, and that he had grown up in the ghettos of Miami. This caused him to begin to regret his business arrangements with SBK who also had paid him to adopt a more commercial appearance. Around 1994, he began using ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin.

During periods of heavy drug use, he would receive many tattoos from artist acquaintances. A survived suicide attempt from a heroin overdose inspired him to change both his his lifestyle and his musical style. Later independently released albums including 'Hard to Swallow', 'Bi-Polar', and 'Platinum Underground' have explored different genres including gangsta rap, grunge, and other rock-oriented sounds, but did not chart.

Vanilla Ice was a special musical guest at the 2010 National Television Awards in January, performing with Jedward for their remix and debut single "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)". He also recorded his verse for their album 'Planet Jedward' and appeared in the music video. In 2009, he had started filming a reality television series called The Vanilla Ice Project which premiered on DIY Network on October 14, 2010.

The season is focused on renovating a house in Palm Beach, Florida with each episode dedicated to a different room in the house. In August 2009, he announced via his official Twitter account that he had signed a contract with StandBy Records to release his sixth studio album called 'WTF' (an acronym for "Wisdom, Tenacity, and Focus"). After many push backs, the scheduled release date is currently for February 28, 2011.

He has stated that the album will feature diverse musical genres including hip hop, acoustic, country, hardcore punk, and techno, and have guest appearances from Insane Clown Posse, Mike E. Clark, Slim Thug, and Cowboy Troy. As a gesture to fans awaiting the new album, his track with Insane Clown Posse, "Born on Halloween" is available for free download at his official website.

He also has a role as the character Heckler in Insane Clown Posse's 2010 film, Big Money Rustlas, a prequel to the 2000 film Big Money Hustlas. In 2011, Vanlla Ice appeared on the sixth season of the UK show Dancing on Ice.

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