Lies, Lies Baby

WELL, by now, girl, you know it isn't true. Milli Vanilli never sang a note. And allegedly "ghetto-raised" Vanilla Ice is about as street tough as a cream puff. Instead of the street-wise rapper he purports to be, "Ice" is actually the product of a white middle class Dallas suburb, according to Time. His real name: Robert Van Winkle.

Milli Vanilli's faked talent, Vanilla Ice's faked life--all around, it's lies, lies, baby.

But then again, is this a surprise? Deception has been a part of the music industry since, well, since there's been a music industry. Several white performers of the '50s reaped untold success by mimicking or out and out stealing from unknown Black artists of the day. Although morally wrong, these thefts set the stage for widespread acceptance of what we know to be Rock 'n' Roll.

Even today, deception in music exists. Artists like M.C. Hammer routinely recycle past hits in the form of "sampling" to garner fame and glory for themselves.

But despite this deception, the music listening public reaps the only true benefit of these actions--music they enjoy hearing. So long as performers avoid the outright thievery that was prevalent in the '50s--and most do today--their "borrowed" music isn't illegal, unethical or immoral.

It's entertaining.

SO WHAT if "U Can't Touch This" reeks of Rick James' "Super Freak"? The song got parties pumping and people jumping. So what if Vanilla Ice never went to high school with 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell? "Ice Ice Baby" got everyone talking and every car stereo in the Square rocking.

Face it, the only reason there's any public uproar over Milli Vanilli's faked singing is that 10 million people who bought "Girl You Know It's True" feel duped, suckered and ripped off.

They shouldn't--because they weren't anymore suckered this time than they have in the past. Chances are someone who's unknown to the public ghost-wrote that favorite tune just as surely as someone "ghost-sung" Milli Vanilli's entire album. What difference does it make? The music remains the same. Enjoy it--don't analyze it.

Sometimes the record industry's deception tactics are just plain necessary. After all, could anyone picture true rap connoisseurs giving a chance to a rich Caucasian from Dallas with his title track "Winkle, Winkle, Baby"?

But put that same anglo in the ghettos of Miami, add a motocross national championship or three, some gang incidents, a common alma mater with Luke Skywalker of the Crew, and smooth it all out with the Vanilla Ice moniker--instant interest. But there's still got to be musical talent--someone's musical talent.

And whether or not that musical talent belongs to Vanilla or Milli Vanilli or someone never mentioned, is irrelevant. Because on that CD or tape, the sound you hear is the sound you get. Deception gets artists "in the door"--talent keeps them from getting thrown out.

No one said it has to be their talent--just as long as talent is present on the album, despite who or what's on the cover.

Some may say that the public is deprived of their "money's worth" if groups like Milli Vanilli perform in concert as they are obviously lipsyncing someone else's voices. But even so-called legitimate artists like Paula Abdul use taped backups to enhance their voices while on stage, according to Rolling Stone. Again, the deception is necessary: If Paula came out on stage sounding like Tone-Loc on helium, showing her "true" talent, the public would feel even more cheated.

So whether it's on album wax or CD tracks, the music remains the same: music the public truly wants in an acceptable package. So what if the closest Vanilla Ice came to the Florida ghettos was watching reruns of "Miami Vice"? His CDs weren't bought to trace his life--they were bought for the music associated with the enigma called "Vanilla Ice." Likewise, Milli Vanilli albums weren't purchased for overgrown braids in biker shorts, but for the music associated with that image.

Will riots break out if it's discovered that all of Young MC's raps were recorded by a talented white youth in Canada? Will adoring fans demand refunds on their Madonna album purchases if they find that the material girl really is a virgin?

They shouldn't--because those deceptive images were simply part of the package. A package that included someone's talent, someone's voice and someone's background. Whether those elements belong to one person or one group is irrelevant. If the end product is enjoyable music then let there be deception--the music industry wouldn't be the same, or even in existence, without it.