Representative Albums: "The Best of Ant Banks," "Sittin' on Something Phat," "Big Thangs"
Representative Songs: "Money Don't Make a Man," "Roll 'Em Phat," "The Big Badass"
Biography
Ant Banks, a Bay Area producer who began working behind the scenes with local legend Too Short, first appeared on two 1992 hip-hop soundtracks, Juice and Menace II Society. That same year, he was on production with Too Short (Shorty the Pimp) as well as associates Spice 1 and Pooh-Man. Through his connections, Banks signed a contract with Jive Records and released his debut album, Sittin' on Something Phat, in 1993. The record featured live instrumentation, including guitar by notable former Parliament mainstay Michael Hampton. The Big Badass and Do or Die followed during 1994-1995, showing Banks' capable techniques behind the microphone as well as the mixing board. For 1997's Big Thangs, however, he recruited some of the West Coast's best rappers to assist him, including Ice Cube, 2Pac, Too Short, and Ice-T. The strategy paid off, as the album hit the Top 20. In April of 1999, Banks released his T.W.D.Y. project, experiencing a substantial hit with the track "Players Holiday." A little over a year later, he followed with the second T.W.D.Y. album, Lead the Way. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
As a child he took part in a band at school and from there learned to play a variety of instruments along the way. At school he only learned Classical, but at home he taught himself to play Funk related music like Parliament, Funkadelic and The Gap Band on his Casiokeyboard. Interested in making music, he would create beats and record his own versions for fun.[2]
Banks would later record tapes with his friend, Oakland rapper MC Ant, and sell them at their high school out the trunk of their cars. With the lyrics handled by MC Ant and the production by Ant Banks, buzz over the tapes eventually reached the streets, resulting in popularity throughout the city.[2]
In 1987, Banks recorded the debut album by MC Ant titled The Great, which was later released in 1989 through Raw Dog Records. In 1989, he recorded the debut album Let It Be Known by East Bay rapper Spice 1, which was later released in 1991 through Triad Records. Along with the releases of Pooh-Man and Dangerous Dame, Banks managed to sell in the range of 100,000 to 300,000 units with all four albums, without a record label or promotion. This turned him into a prominent figure in the Bay Area hip-hop scene by the early '90s.[2]
In 1999 Banks started a group T.W.D.Y. (acronym for "The Whole Damn Yay"). Banks himself, Rappin' 4-Tay and Captain Save'm were the original members. Their debut album "Derty Werk" was released in 1999 and contained the single "Player's Holiday", featuring Too Short and Mac Mall. The single received a lot of radio play. Also, Ant Banks settled his long time beef with Pooh-Man when he appeared on the track "Ride Wit Me". In 2000, T.W.D.Y. released their second and final album "Lead The Way"; Ant Banks and Captain Save'm remained while Dolla Will replaced 4-Tay.[3]
He is also known as "The Big Badass" and released an album of the same name in 1994. His talent for producing "funky" bass lines are well known and have achieved cross-over appreciation in the techno niche. The album liner for Daft Punk's album Homework gives a note of appreciation to Ant Banks for inspiration.
