Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ Rapper, Dies at 59 After Cancer Fight

Rob Base, the Harlem rapper whose 1988 hit It Takes Two helped pull hip-hop and house music into the mainstream, has died at 59 after a battle with cancer.

Rob Base, the Harlem rapper whose 1988 hit It Takes Two became one of the defining crossover records of hip-hop’s first chart era, has died at the age of 59 after a battle with cancer.

The news was confirmed Friday in a statement posted to the artist’s Instagram. “Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,” the post read. “Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.”

Born Robert Ginyard, Base was one half of the duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. NPR’s AP-wire obituary confirming the death and cancer diagnosis framed his career around the single year he and partner Rodney “Skip” Bryce changed mainstream radio.

It Takes Two landed on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 and climbed to No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Songs chart. It was certified platinum by the RIAA. The record’s blend of rap and house, novel at the time, set a template that the next decade of crossover artists would mine repeatedly.

The song’s afterlife is its own legacy. It has been sampled by Snoop Dogg and The Black Eyed Peas, and recurs across film and television soundtracks. The duo’s follow-up, Get on the Dance Floor, took a similar route up the club chart.

Base and Bryce, who went by the stage name DJ E-Z Rock, met as fifth graders in Harlem and were drawn into music by another Harlem-based group, the Crash Crew. They signed in 1987 with Profile Records, then one of the very few hip-hop labels in the industry. NHPR’s repost of the obituary tracks the origin story through that early Profile signing.

Bryce died in 2014 at age 46 from complications of diabetes. The duo had not toured together in years by then, though their catalog remained in heavy rotation across the I Love The 90s circuit and similar nostalgia tours. WBOI’s version of the AP wire notes Bryce’s earlier death.

The Friday Instagram statement did not specify a date of death or detail the duration of Base’s cancer treatment. Survivors include family members referenced in the statement; full survivor information has not been publicly released.

It Takes Two will outlive its makers, which is what most artists say they want and which most artists do not get.

Base was 59.