This was Vanilla Ice's first album, and was released by a small Atlanta-based label called Ichiban.  Hooked was actually well-received by the general public, given the size of the label - 48,000 copies were sold.  Today this album is almost impossible to find, with collectors paying upwards of $30 for a copy.

The album is essentially an early version of Ice's breakthrough album, To the Extreme, but features a few unique songs like "Satisfaction," a cover of the famous Rolling Stones song.  Despite the fact that he was a rising star by this time, Vanilla Ice would still have to wait another year to achieve fame.

To the Extreme is the highest-selling rap album (worldwide) of all-time.  Most recent estimates pinpoint it at around 11 to 13 million, although it might be slightly higher.  More than two million copies have been purchased since he fell from grace - a remarkable tribute to this album's popularity.

It all started when Darrell Jaye, a DJ in Georgia, flipped Ice's "Play That Funky Music" single over to the B side - which had "Ice Ice Baby."  The song went through the roof overnight, and it spent 16 weeks at the top of the charts.  But after those 16 weeks, it all went downhill for Vanilla Ice . . .

Another extremely hard-to-find album, Extremely Live was almost exactly the same as To the Extreme, but in front of an audience.  Unfortunately for Ice, his popularity was beginning to slip as this album came out.  Actually, this album probably contributed to his downfall by causing his overexposure to worsen.

What most people don't know is that Extremely Live was certified gold, because at least 50,000 albums were sold.  An exact number is not available because a more accurate tracking method (SoundScan) was not used until a few years later.

Vanilla Ice was paid more than a million dollars to star in his own feature film.  By the time the movie was released, however, his star power was worth much less, and the film flopped at the box office.  Last summer, it was aired on VH1 as a "Cult Classic," which allowed many people to get a glimpse of the Iceman that they had never previously seen.

The album itself consists of many, but not exclusively, Vanilla Ice-performed songs.  One of his is a duet with Naomi Campbell, and many of the cuts off this album remain favorites of Ice fans everywhere.  There is little demand for the album, however, despite the fact that it is probably as rare as some of his others that are highly sought after.

This is the Promo to Ice's third CD Mind Blowin' Its very very rare and I have only been able to find it on ebay, and that was only one time. It includes all 17 complete tracks, and there are no liner notes or anything what so ever on the inside of the very plain cover. This cassette was only given to radio stations prior to the release of Mind Blowin', so if you cant find it anywhere go down to your local radio station and maybe they will sell you theirs if they have a copy, but chances are they won't and you just better keep searchin on ebay.

Mind Blowin' was the last Vanilla Ice album released by SBK Records, and certainly the least-regarded.  Critics lambasted the album for trying to sound too much like hip hop artists of the time, most notably Cypress Hill.  Despite a heavy focus on drugs (prominent in Ice's life at the time), the lyrics were rather clean - like his earlier albums but unlike Hard to Swallow.

On the plus side, Mind Blowin' mixed a wide variety of musical styles into one album, a result of the frequent sampling used in many of the songs.  The album produced a few hits for die-hard fans, such as the pro-pot anthem "Roll 'Em Up," and disco-sounding "Now and Forever."  Mind Blowin' remains a rare album - only 44,267 copies were sold, and it never cracked the Billboard 200 - so collectors can expect to pay $20 or more for a copy.  Those who look hard, however, can find one for less than five or 10 dollars.

A very very rare Vanilla Ice must have for the hardcore fan. The Hard To Swallow EP was handed out at the duration of his concerts preceding the release of Hard To Swallow. If you do happen to find the EP expect to shell out the cash because this my friends may be the hardest Ice album to find due to the fact it was never out for sale. There are three different covers for the HTS EP, and two different versions of it, the main difference is that one has Too Cold while the other has Fuck Me. Ive only been able to locate two of the covers (Props to "Bomb tha System" for the second). When I can find the other cover I will post it on the site.

The most recent album by Vanilla Ice was his debut in the genre of hardcore rap/metal.  The album received little media attention, despite the fact that its release was timed much better than the hasty Mind Blowin' release.  This time, the public got the chance to forget about Ice for a while, and it gave him time to work on a fresher album.  Despite its lack of attention by the press, music fans everywhere turned their ears.  The current sales total for Hard to Swallow is 77,253, but that number continues to increase slowly thanks to a highly successful tour.

In addition to the album, Vanilla Ice also used television and radio to make his presence known.  He recently has appeared on such shows as MTV's Rock 'n' Jock Baseball, 25 Lame (where he destroyed the set with a bat), and Lovelines, Howard Stern, and Mancow (Chicago).  The show that got him the most attention, however, was VH1's "Behind the Music" special on Vanilla Ice, which ended up as the third-highest-watched "Behind the Music" episode.

Vanilla Ice has once again resurfaced to make his mark but this time on 1996. As the liner notes say, "Robert Van Winkle was the other 100% Grade 'A' beefy boy intonating on "Boom"." Joining up with Jimmy Pop Ali and the rest of the Bloodhound Gang, The Iceman does yet another killer song where he shows that he still has it in him. The song has a heavy bass groove to it, but the lyrics seem to be a blend of the 'To The Extreme' days and the 'Mind Blowin' era. The overall album is good, but Ice takes the spotlight for this one.

Although it only has 5 songs on it by Vanilla Ice, I still like it. First off I was able to get my hands on a copy of 'Cool As Ice (Everybody Get Loose)' which is from the Cool As Ice Soundtrack of which I have been unable to get my hands on. The live version of 'I Love You' is the one from 'Extremely Live' but the one of 'Play That Funky Music' was not so it was interesting to hear that one. Dancin' was the same, but overall there was a good blend of the usual and the unreleased songs. Back 2 Back doesn't have anything really new unless you don't have the Cool as Ice Soundtrack. If that's the case then I highly recommend it, otherwise it's still a good one to own.