Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock

The duo's 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 duo was assisted by a long-time friend from New Jersey, producer David Wynn. David Wynn produced three songs on their debut album and five on their sophomore album.

The first Profile release was "It Takes Two". It used 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 No. 3 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Their album It Takes Two was quickly assembled. It produced a notable 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 reached the top 10 on the dance chart and climbed to No. 58 on the Hot 100. "Get On the Dance Floor", which sampled "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" by The Jacksons, produced by David Wynn, was a track released to clubs in between the two singles. It hit No. 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.

Base 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.

In 2008, their song "It Takes Two" was ranked number 37 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of hip hop.

Rob Base was born Robert Ginyard on May 18, 1967. In the fourth grade, he relocated in New York City from the Bronx to Harlem in Manhattan, where he became a classmate of DJ E-Z Rock. He attended Harlem public schools and loved music. Influenced by rap, he performed in talent shows and at as many open mic or hip-hop events as possible.He had his daughter De’Jene in 1989 to his then girlfriend Rhonda. In 1991 Base met April, and in 1992 they had a son Robert Jr. They subsequently took guardianship of April's cousin. Base and April married and remained together until her death in September 2013. Rob Base died from cancer on May 22, 2026, at the age of 59.

DJ E-Z Rock was born Rodney "Skip" Bryce in 1967 and raised in Harlem. He died on April 27, 2014, at the age of 46, after complications from diabetes.

Studio albums

Rob Base solo album

Singles