When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze hit theaters in 1991, Vanilla Ice’s performance of “Ninja Rap” was just as much of a highlight as of the movie as the wisecracking crime fighters.
This week, Vanilla Ice got to relive his glory – and fans of the original film series get a chance to revisit their childhoods.
At a premiere for the new film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows at Madison Square Garden, Ice did a surprise performance of the song. Outfitted in a jacket and hat that looked straight from the 90s, he strutted down the aisle past audience members before joining the Turtles on stage.
The song was different from the one in the old film, but all that mattered at Madison Square Garden was the memorable chorus: “Go ninja, go ninja, go!”
The “Ice Ice Baby” rapper dissed TMNT’s last attempt at tying rap into its promotion with “Shell Shocked” featuring Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Ty Dolla $ign.
“It feels a little artificial,” he said of the song. “What I mean by that is that it sounds like a bunch of executives in the corporate world put it together. It really does not fit the theme of the Ninja Turtles legend. I think you have to understand, and be a true Ninja, to possess the Magic to really pull off the secret sound.”
“Ice Ice Baby” and Vanilla Ice’s appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II were his two biggest moments in pop culture. Between this performance and MC Hammer making his way back into the news lately, it’s feeling like the early 1990s again.
View Vanilla Ice’s performance at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows premiere at Facebook.
Watch the original performance of “Ninja Rap” below:
Did this dude actually say “… that it sounds like a bunch of executives in the corporate world put it together”? His entire musical existence is the result of what a bunch of executives in the corporate world put it together. L!
What a sellout.
ice ice baby is illmatic classic, timeless record, top tier lyrics and a dope beat….vanilla ice is the man!
I miss the original Turtles cartoon. Wish I kept some of those toys I had back then $$$$$
Wow…. if i would have been unfortunate enough to be in the venue i would have pulled my glock out and put a round in my brain to put it out of its misery….ninja rap? Wack ass bitch
ALRIGHT STOP…. no really I mean it please
Yal are just haters vanilla ice is the greatest wack rapper of all time
It’s ridiculous he’s like fifty years old and look how he dresses up lol what a fuckin joke, how about try to grow the fuck up? look at you on stage wearing childish clothes rapping next to turtles that’s fuckin pathetic – you’re a joke
I hope the ninja turtles kick him in the ass and hit him in the face with a pizza