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Rob Base<\/a>, one-half of the seminal Harlem duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, died on Friday (May 22) after a \u201cprivate battle with cancer.\u201d He was 59.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRob\u2019s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,\u201d a statement<\/a> on his Instagram page read. \u201cBeyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n The duo\u2019s 1988 hit \u201cIt Takes Two,\u201d situated Base\u2019s bars over the Think drum break, a popular loop drawn from Lyn Collins\u2019 James Brown-produced 1972 song \u201cThink (About It).\u201d The track, which became a multi-platinum hit, helped push both hip-hop and house music to the forefront of popular music. Base\u2019s opening bars\u2014\u201cI wanna rock right now, I\u2019m Rob Base and I came to get down. I\u2019m not internationally known, but I\u2019m known to rock the microphone\u201d\u2014remain some of the most familiar lines in rap music, thanks in part to the many ways they have been reinvented over the years. In the decades since it\u2019s release, the song has been sampled and interpolated by the Black Eyed Peas, Ciara, Girls Generation, Skepta, Snoop Dogg, Mac Miller, and countless other artists.<\/p>\n Born Robert Ginyard in New York City in 1967, Rob Base first connected with DJ E-Z Rock\u2014AKA Rodney Bryce\u2014when he was in fourth grade, and the pair became classmates at a Harlem public elementary school. \u201cI had moved from the Bronx at that time and I didn\u2019t have any friends around the way,\u201d Base told XXL<\/em><\/a> in 2014 after DJ E-Z Rock\u2019s death<\/a> due to complications from diabetes. \u201cSo when I went to school, him and me sat at the back of the class and we just clicked from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Base kicked off his career as a DJ, performing at parties and clubs around the New York area, he and E-Z Rock stayed close and released their first joint single, \u201cDJ Interview,\u201d in 1986. That track secured them a deal with Profile Records in 1987, where \u201cIt Takes Two\u201d would be their first release on the label. According to Base, he never expected the song to have the traction it did outside their home city. \u201cWe were just happy that it was a song that the people in the Bronx and Harlem knew,\u201d he told XXL<\/em>. \u201cWe didn\u2019t think it would cross over the way that it did. We just thought it was a regular hip-hop record for around the way.\u201d<\/p>\n After the song\u2019s success, including a rise to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music\/Club Play chart, they followed it up with a debut album of the same name, which also featured hits including \u201cJoy and Pain\u201d and \u201cShake Your Body (Down To The Ground).\u201d Base also released a solo album, The Incredible Base<\/em>, in 1989. In recent years, had been performing across the country as part of the \u201cI Love the \u201890s Tour\u201d with acts including Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd, Young MC, and Tone Loc.<\/p>\n Since news of his death broke, tributes have rolled in for Base from DJ Jazzy Jeff<\/a>, Vanilla Ice<\/a>, Grandmaster Flash<\/a>, Fat Joe, and more. \u201cHe was one of the gentleman of this thing we call hip-hop,\u201d Grandmaster Flash shared in a video message on his official Facebook page. \u201cGreat conversationalist, fun guy, cool guy\u2014electric on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more about \u201cIt Takes Two\u201d at No. 138 in The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s<\/a>.<\/p>\n