Is Vanilla Ice The First Social Media Guru in the World?

Nothing says "1990" better than... shiny, baggy, low-waist pants!

Back in 1990, when email was considered the ultimate mark of uber cool, came along a phenomenal rap song that catapulted its singer/ songwriter into worldwide super stardom.

Reading through the lyrics, I've got two deeply insightful questions for you:

1). Could Vanilla Ice have been the original Social Media Guru without any of us realizing it?

2). Can you read through the song lyrics without falling off your chair, or laughing so hard your eyes well up till you can't read no more? Enjoy...

Ice, Ice Baby - by Vanilla Ice

Yo, VIP, let's kick it!

Ice ice baby
Ice ice baby
All right stop
Collaborate and listen ---------- now's that Social Media 101 for you
Ice is back with my brand new invention ---------- told you, he was onto something
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Then I flow that a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo, I don't know ---------- hold it! Is he rapping about Twitter?
Turn off the lights and I'll glow ---------- Or, is he talking about the iMac?
To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle

Dance
Bum rush the speaker that booms

I'm killin' your brain like a poisonous mushroom
Deadly, when I play a dope melody
Anything less that the best is a felony
Love it or leave it ---------- Could he be discreetly advising the C-suite?
You better gain way
You better hit bull's eye ---------- If that's not about social media strategy, what is it?
The kid don't play
If there was a problem
Yo, I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla

Now that the party is jumping
With the bass kicked in, the Vegas are pumpin'
Quick to the point, to the point no faking ---------- Be authentic. Be real. He got it ages ago!
I'm cooking MC's like a pound of bacon
Burning them if they're not quick and nimble ---------- Now, there's a social business model for you.
I go crazy when I hear a cymbal
And a hi hat with a souped up tempo
I'm on a roll and it's time to go solo
Rollin in my 5.0
With my ragtop down so my hair can blow
The girlies on standby
Waving just to say hi
Did you stop?
No, I just drove by
Kept on pursuing to the next stop ---------- Right there! He's talking integrated social media.
I busted a left and I'm heading to the next block
That block was dead

Yo so I continued to a1a Beachfront Ave
Girls were hot wearing less than bikinis
Rock man lovers driving Lamborghini
Jealous 'cause I'm out getting mine
Shay with a gauge and Vanilla with a nine
Ready for the chumps on the wall
The chumps are acting ill because they're so full of eight balls ---------- ignore them online trolls!
Gunshots ranged out like a bell
I grabbed my nine
All I heard were shells
Fallin' on the concrete real fast
Jumped in my car, slammed on the gas
Bumper to bumper the avenue's packed
I'm tryin' to get away before the jackers jack
Police on the scene
You know what I mean ---------- SCRM basics - create a feedback channel.
They passed me up, confronted all the dope fiends
If there was a problem.
Yo, I'll solve it ---------- Isn't that exactly what every social media guru says!
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla ---------- Sharp focus on the ICE (Info-Comms-Entertainment) industry.
Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla

Take heed, 'cause I'm a lyrical poet
Miami's on the scene just in case you didn't know it
My town, that created all the bass sound
Enough to shake and kick holes in the ground
'Cause my style's like a chemical spill
Feasible rhymes that you can vision and feel
Conducted and formed
This is a hell of a concept ---------- Could that be a hint for a well-developed content strategy.
We make it hype and you want to step with this
Shay plays on the fade, slice it like a ninja
Cut like a razor blade so fast
Other DJ's say, "damn"
If my rhyme was a drug
I'd sell it by the gram
Keep my composure when it's time to get loose ---------- How to handle a social media crisis!
Magnetized by the mic while I kick my juice
If there was a problem ---------- A guru stays one step ahead by creating what-if scenarios.
Yo, I'll solve it!
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla
Ice ice baby Vanilla

Yo man, let's get out of here ------ Fail Fast. Fail forward. Experiment. Explore. Rinse and repeat.
Word to your mother

Ice ice baby
Too cold
Ice ice baby
Too cold too cold ------ Do you have cold showers in winter? Social media is just common sense!
Ice ice baby
Too cold
Ice ice baby
Too cold too cold


For 20 odd years, the world's been wondering what the song means. What's he rapping about?

My take: I feel Ice, Ice Baby is hard-core, guru-level social media marketing advice - but Vanilla Ice coded it all in cryptic rap (it could be verse) because he was "waaaaay" ahead of his time.

I've been able to decode a few hidden gems :) Can you find or interpret a few more?



"Ice, Ice Baby" remains one of the biggest (and catchiest) rap hits of all time. Word of praise for Vanilla ICE.