Before getting into the analysis, let's dispense with the tracklist:

1. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice, VanWinkle, R.
2. You Dropped a Bomb on Me - Vanilla Ice, Leeson, M.
3. Fight the Power - Vanilla Ice, Boxley, J.
4. Jump Around - Vanilla Ice, Schrody, E.
5. Baby Got Back - Vanilla Ice, Ray, A.
6. You Gots to Chill - Vanilla Ice, Sermon, E.
7. I Got It Made - Vanilla Ice, Taylor, D.
8. Buffalo Soldier - Vanilla Ice, Williams, N.
9. Treat 'Em Right - Vanilla Ice, Simpson, R.
10. Insane in the Brain - Vanilla Ice, Freese, L.
11. Ice Ice Baby [Rock Hero Mix] - Vanilla Ice, VanWinkle, R.
12. Ice Ice Baby [Club Crasher Mix] - Vanilla Ice, VanWinkle, R.
13. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice, VanWinkle, R.

I'm no expert in these matters, but as far as I know, no one has done a covers album like this before. Yes, there are albums of rap covers, but only done in different styles, like folk or indie. Mr. Van Winkle, however, is covering rap songs as a rapper, and that would seem to be something new.

What's more interesting, though, is how it's being framed. Check out the cover (above): that doesn't look like a hip-hop album. In fact, the cover design is an homage to an Elvis album, as is the album's title. Weird! But it makes sense, kinda. Leaving aside the Clash echoes, this album really does hearken back to an older style of music, one in which the singer mattered more than the song. Van Winkle is casting himself—hilariously, but still—in the mold of classic vocalists covering standards and newer hits by other artists. And sure, it seems ridiculous. But it's not necessarily a bad idea in the abstract. Pop music is experiencing a glut of songs, and we can all think of great songs that just haven't gotten the right exposure. Why not covers?

Of course, that's pop, not rap, and for rap it maybe seems like less of a good idea, if only because no one's done it before and the first person to really run with it is Vanilla Ice. But maybe it'll be like a Nixon in China thing!

Vanilla Ice [MySpace]
Ice Is Back: Hip-Hop Classics [Amazon]

And speaking of cops, what is up with the 911 dispatcher asking if the husband is "black or Hispanic?" (to which Mrs. Ice huffs "white..."). Way to make an ASS out of U and ME, dude.

It's nice to hear Ice is still rockin' the motorbikes, though.

Sigh. Happier times.

Vanilla Ice Crazy 911 Call: 'Nilla Threatens Suicide [TMZ]
Cool as Ice. [Youtube]

So is the game different for white rappers today?
I would say it's easier for them now because there are a couple people out there who have had success out there doing it. I just think it's a joke that people even focus on the color of your skin. There's a lot of black fans out there that don't give a s—- if I'm black or white—they like the song. They're going, "All right stop/Collaborate and listen." Come one, man, it's a great song! Everyone's going to remember it. When they're 80 years old, it's better than a photo album. You're going to remember if you had the frickin' eyebrow shaved, if you had the lines in the hair, who you were dating and what car you were driving in school. When the song comes on all the memories instantly come back in your head. It's an amazing thing that you can actually own a piece in time. I couldn't expect that that song could be timeless like it is. I'm just grateful for it.

What do you think of VH1's "The (White) Rapper Show?"

I think it's great. I think it's cool. That little [contestant] G-Child is representin' with Vanilla Ice and she ain't even ashamed or nothing. That's cool that she's putting it out there like that. That's what it really needs to be because people who deny that as a rapper are really being fake. You cannot deny that you know who Vanilla Ice is if you're a white rapper. Let's just call it like it is. You're not going to be some white rapper and go, "Who's Vanilla Ice?" You know Vanilla Ice. You know that that's pretty much stimulated a lot of people—even Eminem. I've looked back at [old] pictures of Kid Rock and Fred Durst. I mean, come on, he had the pompadour! Let's call it like it is. I did open up a lot of doors for a lot of people, not just white rappers—even Puff Daddy for sampling. I was ridiculed for sampling. They made an issue of me—I was the guinea pig who made money from a sample so they came after me. I got sued. Now it's OK. Now they have sample-clearing companies. I put hip hop in front of a lot of people's ears who never considered listening to hip hop—basically mainstream America.

We never thought we'd find ourselves yup-yupping with Vanilla Ice, but the man has a point: "Ice Ice Baby" will outlive us all, and he probably turned more white kids on to hip-hop than anyone would like to admit. But does he really think he invented sampling? And why would anyone, cheekily or not, want to take credit for Fred Durst?

Keeping It Real? [Newsweek.com]