Rob Base, the Harlem rapper whose 1988 single “It Takes Two” became one of hip-hop’s most recognizable party records, has died at 59.
His family announced that the artist died Friday, May 22, after a private battle with cancer. The news marks the loss of a key figure from hip-hop’s late 1980s rise into mainstream pop culture.
Born Robert Ginyard, Rob Base found major success alongside DJ E-Z Rock with “It Takes Two,” a track built around a Lyn Collins sample that became a dance floor staple. Its call-and-response energy helped the song move beyond rap radio and into clubs, movies, television, commercials, and sports arenas.
