Street worships any man with the balls to carry Gary Coleman around like a sack of potatoes and threaten to put him in a deep fryer. So when we had a chance to stop, collaborate and listen with Vanilla Ice after soundcheck for his Brownies extravaganza we couldn't pass it up. We were willing to forget that "Ice, Ice Baby" jokes are stale, just for old times sake. The show promised to be more than we bargained for with fireworks, Jagermeister, and "who wants to see some titties?" were all vital elements. But, we'll take a hungry, post-soundcheck Rob Van Winkle over a normal Saturday any time.
While the upcoming premiere of Remaking Vanilla Ice -- the latest manifestation of VH1's major crush on the Ice-man -- promises a complete image makeover, we will always remember him from "Ninja Rap," Madonna's Sex book, and our own ill-advised stints with shaved eyebrows. But that's really not a bad thing.
Are you working on a new album?
Yeah. I'm almost finished with it. I don't have a title for it yet. It's actually a new style of hip hop, kind of like techno hip hop.
How did you get involved with VH1's Remaking show?
They approached me after The Surreal Life.
How surreal was The Surreal Life?
I got to hang out with Ron Jeremy. What could be better than that?
You and Gary Coleman had a "situation" on the show. Do you guys still talk?
I don't talk to Gary. Was that the funniest thing or what? He just freaked out.
How long were you living in the house together?
Almost a month ... I think it was like three weeks. I get confused. I did this thing called The Farm for like a month in Europe. I had to live on this farm.
Like The Simple Life?
This ain't simple. This is the real deal. It was the highest rated show over there. They had 10 celebrities, and I was the only American. If you wanted to eat, you had to kill your chicken. I had to kill the chicken, I had to kill a cow. I had to give birth, I had to milk the cow. The first week, you're like, "Oh my God, I got to kill this thing," and you kill it and feel bad afterwards, and then you have to pluck it and cook it. After the second week, third week, I was like, "Man, I'm going to eat." We had like 12 pigs at the first show, at the end of the show we had two. We had them on the rotisserie every night. I didn't have a problem with it after a couple of weeks because it comes natural. If you think about it, it's only been maybe a hundred years since we've had grocery stores.
Do you still eat meat after that?
Oh yeah, man. I eat it with better taste, now that I know all about it. It was a learning experience. Here's a bunch of celebrities who have had it great their whole lives, first class, and we get thrown on this farm. You got to fend for yourself. And people get eliminated, it was done live. I made it all the way to the end.
Way to represent. Who else was on the show?
There was this one soccer player guy. I don't know. He hooked up with a Spice girl or something.
David Beckham?!
Yeah. I guess that's him, he hit his wife or something like that?
During the show?
No, like at a restaurant or something. This is the story that I was told. A year or so ago, he hit her in front of the press. I don't know. Soccer, they call it football, I don't watch that shit. But who else was on the show? Just celebrities from over there. I really don't know any of them. [Editor's note: Vanilla Ice's cast mates on The Farm, which aired in the UK last fall, included Stan Collymore and Rebecca Loos. Collymore publicly assaulted his then-girlfriend in a Paris bar in 1998 and allegedly threatened his estranged wife Estelle in 2004. Loos claims to have had an affair with soccer player David Beckham. David Beckham was not cast on The Farm, and his wife, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham has never, to our knowledge, filed charges of abuse.]
Is there anything major that VH1 left out of your Behind the Music?
Wish I could say I knew because, honestly, I've only watched the Behind the Music one time, and I couldn't even make it all the way through. It's too emotional for me. I don't want to relive it, I already lived it. I didn't even watch The Surreal Life. Didn't even see one episode of The Farm. I heard it was great. People say [in British accent], "I loved you man, in The Farm, you were great"
