Vanilla Ice claims he paved the way for white rappers like Eminem

Vanilla Ice claims he helped Eminem become a successful rapper.

The 'Ice Ice Baby' star shot to fame with the hit single when he was just 16 years old and claims he "paved the way" for other white rappers such as the 'Slim Shady' hitmaker.

He said: "I definitely opened doors and made it acceptable to get into hip-hop.

"White rappers are few and far between and, during that era, I made it possible to move into that genre and be very successful."

The 46-year-old father of two suffered with depression during the early years of his career but continues to perform and work on new material and claims he "doesn't care" what people think.