In a 1990 interview on “Slammin’ Rap Video Magazine,” conducted two years after their single “It takes Two” stormed dance floors, video shows and radio waves, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock spoke plainly about why their music had managed to reach such a wide audience: “Our music consists of dancin’, keeping the party hyped. … As long as the music is fast, as long as the music is good enough for people to dance to, with a nice hook on it,” Rob Base explained, it could achieve mass appeal.
This assertion was confirmed when it was reported that Rob Base had passed away at the age of 59 and Generation Xers of all stripes mourned, many of whom wouldn’t even consider themselves hip hop heads. Rob Base trailblazed a formula that enabled ‘80s and ‘90s rap to make the transition from the so-called marginalized voice of urban Black youth to certifiably universal pop music. First, excavate an infectious 1970s groove forged through the crucible of booty-bangin’ funk, and disco-infused rhythm-and-blues. (The underlying original music that was mined during this era of hip hop, before IP legal action dramatically curtailed free-range sampling, played as prominent a role in hip hop’s popularity as rapping itself.) Then, furiously scratch and blend these sampled songs on a mixer. Finally, lay some catchy hook phrases over it, and then get out of the way.
Robert Ginyard was born in the Bronx on May 18, 1967, before moving to Harlem where he met Rodney “Skip” Bryce in the fourth grade. Ginyard and Bryce, who would eventually take on the stage names Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, joined a group called the Sureshot Seven before striking out on their own as a twosome. By the early ‘80s, Rob Base recounted, “we was doing nightclubs and anything else we could do. Block parties, house parties…doing it for free, actually.”
After appearing on a compilation album in 1986, the duo was signed to the pioneering label Profile Records, which would also launch the careers of other successful hip hop acts such as Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, Run-DMC, Dana Dane, Special Ed, and the Poor Righteous Teachers.
“It Takes Two” was Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s first release after signing with Profile and it became their signature runaway hit. It relies heavily on samples from Lyn Collins’ 1972 old school rump shaker, “Think (About It),” which was written and produced by James Brown. “It Takes Two” eventually reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart, was named Single of the Year by Spin Magazine, was ranked 37th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs in 2008, and would eventually be certified Platinum seven times over.
These accomplishments, however, don’t fully capture the full cultural impact of “It Takes Two.” Rob Base’s casual charm and impish nasal delivery join sampled horns, James Brown and Bobby Byrd’s call-and-response, and Lyn Collins’ insistent “it takes two” refrain to make an irrepressible dance party favorite. Almost 40 years after its release, “It Takes Two” is a beloved hip hop standard that reliably injects your nervous system with excitement and joy.
The “It Takes Two” album, put together to take advantage of the single’s success, peaked at #4 on the Top R&B/Albums chart. In addition to “It Takes Two”, the album notably featured the tracks “Joy and Pain” and “Get on the Dance Floor,” both of which received considerable airplay and dance chart success. Employing the “party hype,” playbook, “Joy and Pain” revs up and samples the 1980 Frankie Beverly and Maze’s song of the same name, as well as the classic, bass-laden, 1974 dance number, “Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is” by the Olympic Runners. “Get on the Dance Floor” samples the 1978 The Jacksons dance banger, “Shake Your Body.”
Rob Base never enjoyed this level of commercial success again. His 1989 solo studio album, “The Incredible Base,” despite being loaded with high-energy tracks, didn’t gain traction like “It Takes Two.” And in 1994, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock released their second and final studio album, “Break of Dawn” on Rob Base’s record label, Funky Base Records, but it failed to keep pace with the evolving sensibilities of hip hop.
In more recent years, Base toured with other old-school hip hop acts and ran a production company while E-Z Rock continued a deejay career. In 2014, E-Rock died of a diabetic seizure. And after a bout with cancer, Rob Base died on May 22, 2026. He is survived by two biological children, De’Jené and Robert Ginyard Jr., an adopted daughter, Dysell Ginyard, and his wife, Lynette Blackwell.
oor,” saw similar success on the club songs chart.
