Song Clearance Sheet
4 sources citedIce Ice Baby
Hip-Hop1990s116BPM
D majKey
More around 120 BPM → · More in D major → · More “Cleared After Dispute” →
Tempo/key via GetSongBPM →, Deezer →
The verdict
Cleared After Dispute
Two separate real resolutions: the Queen/Bowie settlement (co-writing credit; ~85% of royalties per DJ Earthquake’s estimate, reported), and a separate publishing transfer connected to Suge Knight worth an estimated $3–4M (the transfer and value confirmed; the “balcony” confrontation story is denied by the parties and left disputed, not asserted).
Quick Facts
Released1990
AlbumTo the Extreme
GenreHip-Hop, Pop Rap
LabelSBK / EMI Records
ProducerVanilla Ice & DJ Earthquake
More infoWikipedia → · Discogs →
Who you need to ask
The songwriters of record — Vanilla Ice & DJ Earthquake + Queen & Bowie (via settlement)
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
The royalty split — ~85% to Queen/Bowie/publishers per DJ Earthquake’s estimate
Stereogum → · checked Jul 2026
Has it been reused?
The first #1 rap single; itself built on “Under Pressure” (this batch). Two separate real dollar-figure disputes attach to it — the Queen/Bowie settlement and the ~$3–4M Suge Knight-connected transfer.
Do they allow reuse?
No standalone policy found; confirmed songwriters of record.
Related Songs
Same album, answer records, and songs worth knowing about
The sampled bassline and the settlement source (this batch)
Who Owns It
Licenses explained →The two permissions you need, and who holds them
The song itself (the writing)Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle) & DJ Earthquake (Floyd Brown), plus Queen and David Bowie (added via settlement)
A reported royalty split (the Under Pressure settlement)Per DJ Earthquake’s own estimate to journalist Jeff Weiss, Queen, Bowie and their publishers ultimately took approximately 85% of the total “Ice Ice Baby” royalties as part of the “Under Pressure” settlement (this batch).
A separate $3–4M transfer — value confirmed, the “balcony” story disputedSeparately from the Queen/Bowie settlement, Dallas rapper Mario “Chocolate” Johnson — connected to future Death Row co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight — claimed he wrote part of the lyrics and was never credited. Vanilla Ice ended up signing over a significant chunk of his own publishing, and has directly confirmed the value of what he signed away was an estimated $3–4 million at the time. He has repeatedly denied the widely-circulated “hung over a balcony” version of events, calling it an exaggerated urban legend; Suge Knight has separately denied the physical confrontation entirely. The transfer and its approximate value are confirmed; the specific manner of the confrontation is genuinely disputed between the parties, and is not asserted here.
The recording (current administrator)Genuinely complex given the layered dispute history above
Receipts
Every public mention of terms, policy, or past deals we've found
How the sample was found
DJ Earthquake described discovering the “Under Pressure” sample while searching for material for Ice — looping the same eight bars and adding a beat; when he played it, Ice “flipped out” on it immediately. No lyrics reproduced.
New York Post (via PressReader) · read it →
A reported downstream use of the money
Some of the money Vanilla Ice signed over reportedly went toward funding the founding of Death Row Records in 1992, which launched the careers of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
Stereogum · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?No
Sample History
—
Times sampled
The first rap single to hit #1 on the Hot 100
Covers
—
First flip
Who to Contact
II
Vanilla Ice & DJ Earthquake (+ Queen/Bowie)
The confirmed songwriters of record
What they'll chargeNobody's shared numbers yet
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Page history · 2 updates
Jul 2026Page created — full research (Research Queue Batch 23)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending the automated GetSongBPM/Deezer pass