Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Rob Base
- Genres: Rap
Biography
Best-known for his 1988 platinum hip-hop classic "It Takes Two," Rob Base (with DJ E-Z Rock) rode his hit onto R&B radio stations as well as dance clubs, providing a touchstone for the style known as hip-house. After leaping several hurdles -- vicious rumors about his personal life plus the legal action of Maze's Frankie Beverly after Base sampled Maze on his hit "Joy and Pain" -- he responded in 1989 with The Incredible Base. None of the singles on his second album had the force of "It Takes Two," however, and Rob Base was largely forgotten several years later.Born Robert Ginyard in Harlem, Rob Base began performing with a group called the Sureshot Seven while in fifth grade. By the time of high school graduation, the only members left were him and DJ E-Z Rock (b. Rodney Bryce, Harlem, NY), so the duo began recording. Their first single, "DJ Interview," appeared on the World to World label, and they gained a distribution deal with Profile by 1987. The first Profile release, the title-track single from their debut album, It Takes Two, became a street sensation upon its release in mid-1988. Though the single just barely reached the R&B Top 20 and Pop Top 40, massive club airplay enhanced its impact considerably. Both the single and album eventually went platinum, and Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock gained Single of the Year honors both in Spin and The Village Voice. The second single, "Get on the Dance Floor," continued Base's dance appeal, though his excellent rapping helped him retain his street credentials. By the end of 1989, however, Rob Base was on his own; his only explanation for the disappearance of DJ E-Z Rock was "personal problems." The release of The Incredible Base in 1989 was a bit of a comedown; despite several interesting tracks -- including a reworking of Edwin Starr's "War" -- neither the album nor any singles connected with listeners. ~ John Bush, Rovi
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Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
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| Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1985–Present |
| Labels | Profile Records, Funky Base Records |
| Associated acts | The Delphonics The Cut Technician |
| Members | |
| Robert Ginyard, Rodney Bryce | |
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock are a hip-hop duo from Harlem, New York who are best known for their hit "It Takes Two." The duo consists of Rob Base (Robert Ginyard, born May 18, 1967) and DJ E-Z Rock (Rodney "Skip" Bryce).
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Contents
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Career
Their first U.S. single and release was "DJ Interview," appearing on World to World, which later got them a recording contract with Profile Records in 1987.
The first Profile release was "It Takes Two." It uses multiple samples from the James Brown and Lyn Collins 1972 song "Think (About It)." 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 #3 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
An album, also called It Takes Two, was quickly put together and it produced a significant follow-up hit, "Joy and Pain," which sampled a song of the same name by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, as well as "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is" by The Olympic Runners. It also hit the Top 10 on the dance chart and climbed to #38 on the Hot 100. "Get On the Dance Floor," a track released to clubs in between the two singles, hit #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. However, vicious rumors started to circulate that Rob Base had legal problems for using samples from Maze's Frankie Beverly for the hit "Joy and Pain", and he had his own personal problems.[citation needed] DJ E-Z Rock also was forced to leave the group due to his own personal issues, so Rob Base was left to be a solo artist.[citation needed]
He responded in 1989 with The Incredible Base," 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.
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock had a reunion album in 1994 with Break of Dawn; however, the album did not do well commercially.
In 2008, their song "It Takes Two" was ranked number 37 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of hip hop.[citation needed]
The duo recently performed in Boston with C+C Music Factory.[citation needed]
Current Life
Rob Base has been married for 21 years (as of 2011) to his wife April, and they have two children, Dejene and Robert, Jr. In addition, they serve as guardians for April's younger cousin, Dysell. [1]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
Certifications (sales threshold) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||
| 1988 | It Takes Two
|
31 | 4 |
|
| 1989 | The Incredible Base
|
50 | 20 |
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| 1994 | Break of Dawn
|
— | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Dance | US Rap | US R&B | ||||
| 1988 | "It Takes Two" | 36 | 3 | — | 17 |
|
It Takes Two |
| "Get on the Dance Floor" | — | 1 | 6 | — | |||
| "Joy and Pain" | 58 | 9 | 5 | 11 | |||
| 1989 | "Turn It Out (Go Base)" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
References
- ^ Rob Base article @celebrityparentsmag.com Retrieved 3-6-2011.
External links
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Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Kings of Hip Hop: Classic Material
(2004 Album by Various Artists)
It Takes Two
(1988 Album by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock)
Mastercuts: Breaks [2001]
(2001 Album by Various Artists)
Hed Kandi: Back to Love, Vol. 4
(2002 Album by Various Artists)
Through the Years of Hip Hop, Vol. 1: Graffiti
(2001 Visual Arts Film)
» More