# Vanilla Ice's "To the Extreme" is the highest-selling rap album of all-time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248 "2004-10-26T16:05:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/1 "2004-10-26T16:05:35Z")
The site below makes that claim. Is it true? [“To the Extreme” is the highest-selling rap album (worldwide) of all-time](http://www.midwestmediaproductions.com/vifc/music.shtml) > [@](#): > > “To the Extreme” is the highest-selling rap album (worldwide) of all-time. Most recent estimates pinpoint it at around 11 to 13 million, although it might be slightly higher. More than two million copies have been purchased since he fell from grace - a remarkable tribute to this album’s popularity. > > It all started when Darrell Jaye, a DJ in Georgia, flipped Ice’s “Play That Funky Music” single over to the B side - which had “Ice Ice Baby.” The song went through the roof overnight, and it spent 16 weeks at the top of the charts. But after those 16 weeks, it all went downhill for Vanilla Ice . . . ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/2 "2004-10-26T16:15:23Z")
Doing a search, I get conflicts between MC Hammers ‘Hammer dont hurt em’, To the Extreme and Eminems first album. Strange. Stupid confusing chart sites. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/3 "2004-10-26T16:18:03Z")
And yet, if you mention the album to his face, he’ll most likely break a chair or something. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/4 "2004-10-26T16:19:13Z")
My search got the same results as you, **paulberserker** , but “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt 'Em” was the biggest selling rap album in the U.S., not worldwide. Considering that **astro** ’s link is the Vanilla Ice fan club website, I’m a little skeptical. But I guess we’re talking best-selling, not best-quality, so it could be true. He had a huge following back then. A lot of white kids bought that record, so he covered a huge demographic. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sayid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jack\_Sayid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sayid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/5 "2004-10-26T16:23:31Z")
My sources say the winner is **TLC** - _CrazySexyCool_ (12 Million). Bah, but who knows. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/6 "2004-10-26T16:36:11Z")
> [@Jack Sayid](#): > > My sources say the winner is **TLC** - _CrazySexyCool_ (12 Million). > > Bah, but who knows. 😕 I saw that, too, but I dismissed it because is that really rap? Hip-hop, yes, but I don’t know why they put that in the ‘rap’ category. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/7 "2004-10-26T16:39:39Z")
[15 million](http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/artistFocus.asp?artistID=1028106) according to this less than glowing bio. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sayid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jack\_Sayid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sayid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/8 "2004-10-26T16:40:00Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > I saw that, too, but I dismissed it because is that really rap? Hip-hop, yes, but I don’t know why they put that in the ‘rap’ category. Yeah, I wondered that too. Does R&B w/ Hip-Hop elements count? It appears that it does. Hmm ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sayid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jack\_Sayid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sayid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/9 "2004-10-26T16:42:28Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > [15 million](http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/artistFocus.asp?artistID=1028106) according to this less than glowing bio. Ah, well there you go! 15 Mil…Wow! But now comes the real question, should **Vanilla Ice** qualify as rap? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/10 "2004-10-26T16:50:58Z")
Word to your mother ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/11 "2004-10-26T18:02:50Z")
Two million after he stopped being popular? Those must be the same idiots that went to see his more-recent tour (as a rock group) in order to make fun of him. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/12 "2004-10-26T20:19:46Z")
I own a copy of that record. I went to see him in concert when he opened up for MC Hammer. I loved every minute of all of it. There are some good songs on that record, and even the bad songs have their moments. Regardless of whether or not you believe his story, the record company’s story, or the “objective” media account, the simple fact is this: Fifteen million people bought the record. And now nobody will admit it? That’s pretty weak. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/13 "2004-10-26T20:23:38Z")
This thread makes me wanna wax a chump like a candle. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/14 "2004-10-26T20:26:07Z")
> [@mouthbreather](#): > > This thread makes me wanna wax a chump like a candle. That actually made me loller. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/15 "2004-10-26T20:29:32Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Fifteen million people bought the record. > > And now nobody will admit it? Ahem … “All right stop, collaborate and listen. Ice is back with my brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly, flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know. Turn off the lights, and I’ll glow. To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal, light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle …” What? I never had it, I swear! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/16 "2004-10-26T20:38:33Z")
[_ahem_](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5413473#post5413473) ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/17 "2004-10-27T02:00:27Z")
Ice Ice Baby is my favorite song of ALL TIME. And I am not ashamed to admit it. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/18 "2004-10-27T02:01:31Z")
Its where my username comes from. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/19 "2004-10-27T02:04:50Z")
> [@Jack Sayid](#): > > But now comes the real question, should **Vanilla Ice** qualify as rap? Too cold! ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248/20 "2004-10-27T02:14:01Z")
The Guiness Book of World Records lists TLC’s CrazySexyCool as the top selling Hip-Hop/Rap album at 11 million sold, surpassing Please Hammer Don’t Hurt 'Em, which sold 10 million. That’s the most credible source I could find, with no mention of Ice anywhere. Also, it seems that TLC is really “counted” either… on most sites Hammer’s album is still held as the top selling rap album. Hrm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanilla-ices-to-the-extreme-is-the-highest-selling-rap-album-of-all-time/271248.md?page=2)