Even in a bad market, location, location, location is a way to still buy and sell property.
Vanilla IceWhen 'Ice Ice Baby' was selling a million records a day, I bought several properties: a home next to Michael J. Fox in L.A., a palace in Miami and a mountain cabin in Utah. Then, a few years later, I took a break from touring, saw that my properties had cobwebs, so I sold them, and - to my surprise - I made a huge profit!
Vanilla IceIt wasn't until '94 when I tried to commit suicide that I realized that it wasn't about the money.
Vanilla IceThe most valuable lesson I've ever learned in my life is that life is about family and friends, not about material things or any of that. It's about enjoying your life. If you have no family, no friends to enjoy it with, it don't matter how much you have, how much success you have, how much fame you have, how much money you have, it doesn't matter.
Vanilla IceI was born in Dallas, Texas, but I was raised in south Florida. Ice Ice Baby is about that area.
Vanilla IceMy breakdancing crew used to go to the mall and squat a piece of cardboard there; we had our jam box, and I'd spin on my head and make about forty bucks a day, which was pretty good back then. I was only 14 years old, so I would chase the girls around the mall and eat some pizza and have some change left over.
Vanilla IceI didn't end up going bankrupt... I made some great investments and I held on to my money, which also enables me to have the freedom to do what I want now. But it's not about finances. No matter what, it's about keeping it real.
Vanilla IceShow me who your friends are and I'll show you who you are. It works for me. Stay positive and good things happen.
Vanilla IceIf you look at the statistics, people spend most of their time in the kitchen. Aside from the backyard, it's one of my favorite places to renovate.
Vanilla IceTo be truthful, Jay-Z wouldn't have a quarter of the records sold today if it wasn't for the white people buying his records.
Vanilla IceAnd all the zig-zags and lines in my hair? I used to do that myself. I just thought it was cool that you could actually do that with your hair.
Vanilla Ice"Ice" came in when my friends would say "cold as ice" -- if you could rap and battle people you'd say "Dude, that was ice cold." It had nothing to do with jewelry. Back then, it was like "Your cold, dawg." "Vanilla Ice -- that's cold."
Vanilla IceFor three years between 16 and 19 I was the opening-act-for-the-opening-act-for-the-opening-act, you know? And then I was on tour with Ice-T, Stetsasonic, EPMD, Sir Mix-a-Lot--legends--and went on to sell 160 million records. It still baffles me.
Vanilla IceI just kept it real and had the freedom to do what I want. It's not designed for any age group. It's not made for radio. There are no edits. The whole album contains explicit lyrics but that's because you need it.
Vanilla IceI've been playing concerts for many years, and it's still as exciting as it was the first time. I hope that shows when I'm performing.
Vanilla IceI use the music to vent, and a lot of the stuff that I am writing about or was writing about contained a lot of anger and anxiety, stress and depression, so that's how the album came out so dark.
Vanilla IceI didn't want the public in my personal life at all - I thought that people might perceive me as too normal, and I'd lose that larger-than-life rock star persona. You've got to protect that!
Vanilla Ice