Nominee No. 02 · 2026 Awards

Vanilla Ice

for “Ice Ice Baby”, 1990

He had the first rap single ever to top the Billboard Hot 100. Thirty-three years later, he was the entertainment at a pro soccer team’s ’90s night in Houston.

Peak: 1990
Last seen: 2023
Fade: 6/10

Frontrunner in

Longest Time in the Wilderness

“Houston Dash 90s Bash, 2023-10-08 (53256190154) (cropped)” by 2C2K Photography from Houston, TX, USA, via commons.wikimedia.org · CC BY 2.0 · cropped to square and resized

Then, and now

The first rap single to top the Billboard Hot 100The entertainment at a pro soccer team’s ’90s night
Knocked MC Hammer off the top of the Billboard 200Nine seasons renovating houses on DIY Network
A movie of his own: Cool as IceIts total domestic gross: $1,193,062

The citation

The peak

On November 3, 1990, “Ice Ice Baby” became the first rap song ever to top the Billboard Hot 100. His album To the Extreme then knocked MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ’Em off the top of the Billboard 200.

Fame, plotted. Our estimate, not science; the milestones are in the receipts.

The descent

Cool as Ice, his first starring film, opened on October 18, 1991, and finished with $1,193,062 at the domestic box office.

The second act was houses. The Vanilla Ice Project, a room-by-room home makeover series on DIY Network, premiered in October 2010 and ran for nine seasons.

Then · 1990	Now · 2023
The first rap single to top the Billboard Hot 100	The entertainment at a pro soccer team’s ’90s night
Knocked MC Hammer off the top of the Billboard 200	Nine seasons renovating houses on DIY Network
A movie of his own: Cool as Ice	Its total domestic gross: $1,193,062

Last confirmed sighting

SpottedLast confirmed sighting · 8 Oct 2023

Performing in an orange Houston Dash jersey at the team’s “90’s Dash Bash”, Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, at an NWSL game against Angel City FC.

Word to your mother. At a soccer game.

In fairness

To be fair…Nine seasons of a home-renovation show is a genuine second career, which is more than most one-hit wonders manage. He has been in on the joke for years, and by the photographic evidence, the Dash Bash crowd loved it.

The verdict

Nominee No. 02, the 2026 Awards. A serious contender. Thirty-six years since the peak and counting.

The receipts

Stereogum: “The Number Ones: Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”” by Tom Breihan, 20 Oct 2021. First rap song to top the Hot 100 (Nov. 3, 1990); To the Extreme displaced Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ’Em at No. 1.
Box Office Mojo: “Cool as Ice (1991)”. Released Oct. 18, 1991; domestic total $1,193,062.
UPI: “Vanilla Ice to star in DIY series”, 3 Aug 2010. The Vanilla Ice Project, a room-by-room home makeover series on DIY Network, premiering Oct. 14, 2010.
Wikimedia Commons (photo by 2C2K Photography): “Houston Dash 90s Bash, 2023-10-08”, 8 Oct 2023.

#Rap#1990s#Home renovation

Submit a nomination

The academy accepts nominations all year. Who, what happened, and a link.

Public figures only: actors, pop stars, presenters, reality alumni, one-hit wonders, influencers of yore. Tell us what they were famous for and link to proof of where they are now. No private people, and nobody who stepped back for their health, a bereavement or their family.