Rob Base

The multi-platinum 1988 hip-hop classic “It Takes Two” established Rob Base and his collaborator DJ E-Z Rock as leading figures whose track crossed over from dance clubs into the Billboard Hot 100’s upper tier, becoming a defining reference point for the hip-house sound. Rob Base overcame several obstacles, among them damaging rumors concerning his private affairs and a copyright-infringement action brought by Maze’s Frankie Beverly over the duo’s third single “Joy and Pain,” before issuing the solo album The Incredible Base in 1989; yet none of its singles matched the impact of “It Takes Two,” and the partnership’s trajectory thereafter encountered more setbacks than successes.

Robert Ginyard, raised in Harlem and later known professionally as Rob Base, joined the Sureshot Seven during fifth grade. By the conclusion of high school only he and DJ E-Z Rock (born Rodney Bryce in Harlem) remained, prompting the pair to record independently. Their initial effort, “DJ Interview,” credited solely to Rob Base with co-production by E-Z Rock and Chill Will, surfaced on World to World’s Fast Money compilation in 1986. The same label issued the debut single “Make It Hot” in 1987, after which the artists moved to the larger Profile imprint. The title-track single from their first Profile album, It Takes Two, emerged as a street sensation in mid-1988; although it reached only the R&B Top 20 and the Hot 100 Top 40, extensive club rotation magnified its reach. Both the single and the album attained platinum status, and Spin named the single Single of the Year. Follow-up “Get on the Dance Floor” sustained the duo’s dance-floor momentum while Rob Base’s sharp delivery preserved his credibility among street audiences.

By late 1989 Rob Base was working alone; his sole public remark on DJ E-Z Rock’s absence cited “personal problems.” The Incredible Base arrived that same year to muted response; despite noteworthy cuts, among them a reinterpretation of Edwin Starr’s “War,” neither the album nor its singles found an audience. The pair reconvened for the 1994 release Break of Dawn, which likewise failed to register commercially. Rob Base maintained a performing schedule through the 2010s without issuing further albums, while DJ E-Z Rock continued working as a DJ. E-Z Rock succumbed to a diabetic seizure in 2014 and received tribute at that year’s Hip Hop Hall of Fame ceremony.