High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! 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.