Trivia
Vanilla Ice has two unique taunts against DIO and six different taunts against all other characters in the game.
His character is named after Robert Matthew Van Winkle, better known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, an American rapper, actor, and television host who rose to fame in the early 1990s. Born in South Dallas, Texas, and raised in both Texas and South Florida, Ice first entered the music scene with his independent debut album Hooked, released in 1989 through Ichiban Records. The album caught the attention of SBK Records, a subsidiary of EMI, which re-released a repackaged version in 1990 titled To the Extreme. This new version included Ice’s breakout hit "Ice Ice Baby"—a song that became historically significant as the first hip hop single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured his popular cover of "Play That Funky Music."
Despite his meteoric rise to fame, Vanilla Ice’s relationship with the music industry was complex and often troubled. Under pressure from SBK Records, he adopted a more commercialized image intended to appeal to a broader audience, a move he later regretted. The label also released fabricated elements of his biography without his consent, further distancing him from the version of himself that was being marketed to the public. Struggling with the sudden fame and the artificial image imposed on him, Ice experienced a personal and professional crisis that culminated in a suicide attempt. After this, he took a step back from the limelight and shifted both his musical style and lifestyle, moving toward a more personal and underground approach to music.
Though his later albums never replicated the commercial success of To the Extreme, Vanilla Ice maintained a loyal underground following. In 2009, he found a new niche as the host of The Vanilla Ice Project on the DIY Network, where he showcased his passion for home renovation. He continued to release music as well, with his most recent album, WTF – Wisdom, Tenacity & Focus, coming out in August 2011. Following that, he signed with Psychopathic Records, aligning himself with a label known for its cult following and alternative artists, marking a full-circle shift away from mainstream pop stardom toward independent, identity-driven artistry.
