Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo from

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York City. Rob Base is the stage name of Robert Ginyard (b. May 18, 1967) and DJ E-Z Rock was the stage name of Rodney "Skip" Bryce (1967–2014). They are best known for the 1988 single " It Takes Two", a "hip-hop staple" that was a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit and has been

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. That song was a part of the duo's album of the same name, which also has been certified platinum. They are known for being pioneers of the crossover success that rap music would have in the popular music mainstream.

Career

The duo's first U.S. single and release was "DJ Interview", appearing on World to World, which later got them a recording contract with

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label ...

in 1987. The duo was assisted by a long-time friend from New Jersey, producer David Wynn. David Wynn produced three songs on their debut album and five on their sophomore album. The first Profile release was " It Takes Two". It used multiple samples from the

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

1972 song "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.' ...

". The track first became a regional hit and then slowly climbed the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, picking up a multi-platinum single certification. The song also peaked at No. 3 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. Their album '' It Takes Two'' was quickly assembled. It produced a notable follow-up hit, "Joy and Pain", which sampled a song of the same name by

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

featuring

Frankie Beverly Howard Stanley Beverly (December 6, 1946 – September 10, 2024), known as Frankie Beverly, was an American singer, songwriter, and producer known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band Maze. He formed Maze, originally called R ...

, as well as "Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is" by the

Olympic Runners The Olympic Runners were a 1970s British funk band, put together by record producer Mike Vernon who also played percussion, and fronted by singer George Chandler. They also included multi-instrumentalist Pete Wingfield, and had a number of hi ...

. It reached the top 10 on the dance chart and climbed to No. 58 on the Hot 100. "Get On the Dance Floor", which sampled "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" by

The Jacksons The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

, produced by David Wynn, was a track released to clubs in between the two singles. It hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1989. Boosted by those singles, the ''It Takes Two'' album went platinum seven times over. Base responded in 1989 with ''

The Incredible Base ''The Incredible Base'' is the only solo studio album by American rapper Rob Base. It was released on November 21, 1989, via Profile Records. The recording sessions took place at Hillside Sound Studio in Englewood, New Jersey. It was produced by ...

'', his debut solo album. It did not sell as well as ''It Takes Two''. One song from the album hit the dance chart in late 1989: "Turn It Out (Go Base)", credited only to Rob Base. In 2008, their song "It Takes Two" was ranked number 37 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 greatest songs of hip hop.

Personal lives

Rob Base was born Robert Ginyard on May 18, 1967. In the

fourth grade Fourth grade (also 4th Grade or Grade 4) is the fourth year of formal or compulsory education. It is the fourth year of primary school. Children in fourth grade are usually 9–10 years old. Argentina's equivalent In Argentina, the minimum age ...

, he relocated in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, where he became a classmate of DJ E-Z Rock. He attended Harlem public schools and loved music. Influenced by rap, he performed in

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

s and at as many

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

or hip-hop events as possible. His first child, De'Jené Ginyard, was born in 1989 to his then-girlfriend Rhonda Dunbar, with whom he was in a relationship from 1986 to 1990. In 1991, Base met April, and in 1992, they had a son, Robert Ginyard Jr. They subsequently took guardianship of April's cousin Dysell. Base and April married and remained together until her death in September 2013. DJ E-Z Rock died on April 27, 2014, at age 46 after complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Rob's Official justRHYMES.com profile – music, bio, videos & more

Maxim.com Rap Public Service Announcement featuring Rob Base
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock African-American musical duos American hip-hop duos Hip-hop groups from New York City East Coast hip-hop groups American dance music groups Pop-rap groups Musical duos from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Profile Records artists 1985 establishments in New York City