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?