37 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
37 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
5
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“Ice Ice Baby” was originally the flipside to Vanilla Ice’s debut single “Play
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That Funky Music”. When it was later released as its own single, it became an
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international smash hit.
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After every record company turned Vanilla Ice’s original demos down, Tommy Quon
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(the owner of the Dallas club City Lights) had the club’s DJ Earthquake produce
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two tracks for release on his label Ultrax Records. “Play That Funky Music”,
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based on the 1976 hit of the same name, was the A-side, and “Ice Ice Baby”,
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based on the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity chant in the film School Daze spoken
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over Queen’s “Under Pressure”, was the B-side.
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A DJ at an FM station in Georgia liked the B-side better and played it on air.
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Soon it became that station’s #1 requested song, leading stations in Tennessee
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and Texas to do the same. It also became Video Jukebox’s most requested video.
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After SBK Records' founder was played the song over the phone, he signed Ice the
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next day. In August of 1990, his label released “Ice Ice Baby” as the A-side
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with “Play That Funky Music” as its flipside.
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The song began climbing charts around the world, eventually reaching the top 10
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in twelve countries – hitting #1 in six of them including the UK and the US
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(where it became the first chart-topping rap single in history).
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“Ice Ice Baby” contains an uncleared sample of Queen’s “Under Pressure”, so when
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confronted about it, Ice claimed he’d altered it, but he later admitted he
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actually hadn’t. The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, and
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members of Queen, plus the guest vocalist on the original song David Bowie, were
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also given songwriting credits.
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The song is credited for ‘making hip-hop an acceptable genre to mainstream
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media’ and continues to be popular into the 2000s. It was certified Gold in 2005
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for selling 500K digital downloads and named by VH1 the #29 top song of the 90s.
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But it also has its share of negative feedback, with MTV ranking it the #9 worst
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video in history, and Houston Press calling it the worst song to come from
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Texas. In 2012, actor/comedian Adam Scott discussed the song’s opening lyrics on
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Conan, pointing out how ridiculous they sound when analyzed. |