Vanilla Ice’s Streamys Performance Shows Power Of YouTube Collabs

YouTube is all about working together. The most popular non-music video of 2012 was a collaboration, and the upcoming Streamy Awards will continue to highlight that communal spirit. Epic Rap Battles of History will perform alongside Mike Tompkins, its Maker Studios compatriot. Joining them on stage will be Chester See; he appeared with Kassem G in Rewind YouTube Style, and Kassem showed up with Tompkins in the Maker Studios holiday video. It seems as if every creator on YouTube can be linked to each of his or her contemporaries through a series of collaborations. We’re at the point where it’s possible to play a game called “Six Degrees of YouTube Bacon.”

And then there is Vanilla Ice. The aforementioned YouTube stars combine for almost five million subscribers and more than 600 million views, but Ice adds another element. His performance

provides a mainstream presence that is becoming increasingly more popular within YouTube collaborations. When you consider that ERB featured Snoop Dogg Lion in a recent episode, adding top rap artists to the YouTube space is becoming par for the course.

So when the Streamys performance does arrive, it will be more than just a fun collaboration between four talented musicians. It will be Ice’s inauguration into an industry that is continuously working to integrate people like him into the fold. If Ice has a good time, I could easily see him joining NicePeter and EpicLLOYD for an ERB episode. He’d make a mean Julius Caesar.

To hear “Ice Ice Baby” and more, tune in to the Streamys starting February 17th at 3 PM PT/6 PM ET.