Last night, legendary nightclub Studio 54 at MGM Grand welcomed rapping icon Vanilla Ice (a.k.a. Rob Van Winkle) for a special performance at the club’s weeklong Nightmare on 54th Street Halloween celebration. The rebellious artist walked the red carpet in his usual all-black ensemble, showing off his knuckle tattoos that spell out “Wide Open.” Shortly after, Van Winkle took to the stage in front of a packed crowd, performing his more recent pieces before moving onto his classic fan-favorites, “Ice Ice Baby” and “Ninja Rap” – made famous by his cameo in the 1991 sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. The crowd sang along to his every lyric, amazing the performer into telling the audience he couldn’t believed they remembered it, and he still loved “those turtles.” Throughout the performance, Rob took bottles of water and sprayed the crowd, drenching the entire dance floor, pouring full bottles on himself, and dowsing his entourage on stage. He had a “circus freaks” theme for his performance with a crazy clown enticing the crowd and pulling all the beautiful women onto the stage to dance alongside him, singing every word of “Ice Ice Baby.”
Performing shortly after midnight, Vanilla Ice wished everyone a “Happy Halloween” as he departed the stage, but what the crowd didn’t know was that it also marked the rapper’s 42nd birthday. Upstairs in his VIP sky box, he was greeted by his closest friends with a two-tier birthday cake in his honor. After the candles were blown out, Rob spent the early hours of the morning mingling with friends and watching the packed crowd over his balcony.
Pictures credit - Scott Harrison/Retna.
