Raise your hand if you still know all the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" Yeah.... thought so.
My poor cousin wasn't even a thought in her mom's head when Vanilla Ice debuted this song in 1990. "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip-hop single to reach the top of the Billboard charts.
Sampling the well-known and popular bassline of Queen and David Bowie's song "Under Pressure", "Ice Ice Baby" helped diversify hip-hop by introducing it to the mainstream audience.
And maybe better than Billy Joel and Elton John. Maybe.
When Freddie Mercury of Queen and David Bowie collaborated on 1981's "Under Pressure" it was the joining of the 2 most distinguishable voices of all time.
Featured on Queen's album Hot Space, "Under Pressure" earned the top spot on the UK charts, and was also named as song #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s.
Even though "Under Pressure" was a joint effort from Queen and David Bowie, Queen were the only performers to incorporate it regularly into their live shows. Bowie did not perform the song before a live audience until after Freddie Mercury's passing, and has since performed the song at almost every concert, with his bass player taking Mercury's part.
The opening bass line is one of the most recognized in the world - unless you let Vanilla Ice mess up your music awesomeness with "Ice Ice Baby"
Below is a video so you can hear Freddie and David singing together, as well as the video of David Bowie and Annie Lennox singing "Under Pressure" at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. Feel the power behind the song and fall in love.
