Idolator

Since today is Idolator's special "let's talk about race and music" day, we now steer you toward this Newsweek.com interview with Vanilla Ice. If there was ever a year in which Ice could make a comeback, it would be 2007, which has already rewarded MC Serch with a VH1 show and Marky Mark with an Oscar nomination. But it looks as though all Robert Van Winkle wants is a little respect:

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]