PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • Hard to Swallow
rdfs:comment
  • Hard to Swallow is the third studio album by American rapper Robert Van Winkle under the name Vanilla Ice. Released by Republic Records in 1998, the album was the first album the performer recorded after a four year hiatus following the 1994 release of Mind Blowin. Van Winkle intended the new musical direction found on the album as an attempt to move away from hip hop music and discard his former pop image. Hard to Swallow instead featured what Van Winkle described as "skate rock", a fusion of heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop. The album features appearances from Amen vocalist Casey Chaos, Bloodhound Gang vocalist Jimmy Pop, and Insane Poetry front man Cyco. Session musicians included drummer Shannon Larkin, keyboardist Scott Borland, and Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo.
Length
  • 12.0
  • 9.0
  • 296.0
  • 286.0
  • 314.0
  • 225.0
  • 272.0
  • 326.0
  • 273.0
  • 298.0
  • 204.0
  • 267.0
rev2Score
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:juggalos/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
all writing
  • Van Winkle, Robinson, Ordito, Chaos, Borland, Larkin, Mayo, Holoman and Johnson
Label
Producer
filename
  • Vanilla Ice Stompin' Through the Bayou.ogg
Name
  • Hard to Swallow
rev3Score
Genre
Type
  • studio
writing credits
  • yes
Title
Last album
  • Mind Blowin
rev
This Album
  • Hard to Swallow
Format
Cover
  • Hard to Swallow.jpg
Total Length
  • 2986.0
rev5Score
Next album
  • Bi-Polar
Released
  • 1998-10-20
Artist
Recorded
  • 1997
abstract
  • Hard to Swallow is the third studio album by American rapper Robert Van Winkle under the name Vanilla Ice. Released by Republic Records in 1998, the album was the first album the performer recorded after a four year hiatus following the 1994 release of Mind Blowin. Van Winkle intended the new musical direction found on the album as an attempt to move away from hip hop music and discard his former pop image. Hard to Swallow instead featured what Van Winkle described as "skate rock", a fusion of heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop. The album features appearances from Amen vocalist Casey Chaos, Bloodhound Gang vocalist Jimmy Pop, and Insane Poetry front man Cyco. Session musicians included drummer Shannon Larkin, keyboardist Scott Borland, and Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo. Van Winkle took an interest in the musical style found on Hard to Swallow while performing as a member of a Miami grunge band, and was able to develop this sound through a friendship with producer Ross Robinson, with whom he shared an interest in motocross racing. Robinson produced the album after being advised against working with Van Winkle. The album's darker lyrical subject matter developed from conversations between Robinson and Van Winkle, in which Robinson encouraged him to write about his past. Subjects included Van Winkle's abusive childhood, drug addiction and struggles with fame. Although Republic Records believed that the album would revive Vanilla Ice's career, it received largely negative reviews and did not chart.