Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor and television personality. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, he released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, which released a reformatted version of the album in 1990 under the title To the Extreme; which became the fastest-selling hip hop album of all time and contained Ice's best-known hit