TIP-TOP HIP-HOP: Lately, we’ve been hearing lots...

TIP-TOP HIP-HOP: Lately, we’ve been hearing lots of so-called smart record execs saying that rap is dead (especially execs at labels who haven’t signed a decent rap act yet). Guess that means they somehow haven’t heard “Ice Ice Baby” by white rapper Vanilla Ice, which is already rocketing toward the Top 10 of the Billboard singles chart. If you’re looking for an even more left-field hit, stop dissing rap and start digging “The Piper,” the new single from Cheeba, a silky-voiced ex-New York B-Boy who’s moved to L.A. and signed to CBS’ Ruff House label. Written by Digital Underground’s Shock G, the tune is a sly allegory about a flute-playing piper hired by the Mayor of Cheeseville to rid the town of a gang of evil rats, who are pushing bad cheese to the town’s kids. Things don’t necessarily work out the way they should, but that’s what gives the song such a street-wise wallop. . . . Meanwhile, New Kids on the Block aren’t the only popsters making money off merchandising these days. Check out gangsta-rappers N.W.A’s new EP, “100 Miles and Runnin’.” Or maybe we should call ‘em capitalist rappers. The disc’s highlight? A merchandising order-form that shrewdly capitalizes on the group’s outlaw image. You can buy “University of South Central” T-shirts ($12.95), “. . . Tha Police” sweat shirts ($19.95), “Loc (Gangsta Style)” sunglasses ($6.95) and even a “ . . . Tha Police” badge ($9.99). Can an “N.W.A autograph-model Uzi” be far behind?