Vanilla Ice rapping on stage while his fans crowd around him, hyping him up. PN Photo/Alyssa Hernandez
By: Alyssa Hernandez, Managing Editor
1990s rapper Vanilla Ice performs at homecoming and attracts a wide variety of fans. His show attracted 515 people. This included alumni, current students and their families.
“I have a very broad demographic. It goes from nine to 90 with me,” Ice said.
He attributes his wide demographic to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” where he sings his song “Ninja Rap”. He said people also love his construction show, “The Vanilla Ice Project.”
“I was happy to see such a wide range of ages came to enjoy the show,” Ramee Treish, Alumnus said. The night opened up with Wilmington band Lotus Sun. James Bass, director of GPAC, said he wanted to support local North Carolina bands. The crowd enjoyed their music but were more excited to see Ice perform.
“I thought they did really well, and I enjoy their music,” Triesh said.
Ice’s goal for the night was to take everyone in the audience back to the 90’s. When he came out he reminisced about subwoofers and block parties. He told the audience that for the time they were at the concert they were teenagers. The audience was cheering as he said this.
“I get to dance around and be a teenager. I get love life and forget about all the worries. I get to go back to the 1990s and be in a better time, a better decade,” Ice said.
The stage was decorated with inflatable ghosts and a sugar skull, to represent Ice’s love of Halloween.
As Ice started singing the audience members left their seats and came up to the edge of the stage. Ice then went to the edge of the stage and started interacting with the audience. He could be seen giving high fives and singing with fans.
He had the audience participate when he sang “Ninja Rap” and “Ice, Ice Baby.” During “Ninja Rap” he could be seen with water bottles which he periodically sprayed the audience with. At various points in the night you could see a ghost dancing on stage.
As he sang he could be seen singing with fans at the edge of the stage. Even pointing at them to acknowledge they knew the words to the song.
Paula Cummings, special events coordinator for GPAC, said “It was a great show! Alumni loved it. I heard so many say it was the best show they had seen at GPAC.”
Ice invited fans to come up on stage with him. These fans could be seen crowded near where Ice was singing and dancing. Towards the end confetti could be seen all over the stage.
After fans exited the stage, Ice talked about supporting our troops. He took off the American flag scarf he had on during the show as he spoke.
When the show came to an end Ice could be seen taking a selfie with every fan that was at the edge of the stage. He told everyone to have their cell phone cameras ready. He went down the line and took a couple of pictures with each fan.
Ice is still producing new music through his YouTube channel, Vanilla Ice. He is working on other projects like the “Vanilla Ice Project” and a zombie movie.
