Rob Base, the rapper best known as one half of pioneering duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, has died at 59. The news was shared Friday through a statement posted on his official Instagram account by his family, which revealed that the artist died peacefully on May 22 after a private battle with cancer.
The message described him as a devoted father, creative force, and performer whose music “helped shape a generation” while thanking fans for carrying his legacy forward through the years.
A Defining Voice of Hip Hop’s Crossover Era
Born Robert Ginyard in Harlem, New York, Rob Base emerged during a period when rap music was beginning to break into the mainstream in a major way. Alongside longtime collaborator DJ E-Z Rock, he became part of a late 1980s wave that pushed hip hop beyond regional scenes and into pop radio, dance clubs, and eventually global culture.
The duo’s breakthrough arrived with the 1988 hit “It Takes Two,” a track built around a now legendary sample from Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It).” What started as a regional success quickly grew into a national hit, climbing the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming one of the defining rap singles of its era. Its infectious hook and energetic delivery helped the song remain a fixture at sporting events, films, commercials, and parties for decades.
Their debut album of the same name became a major commercial success and spawned additional singles including “Joy and Pain” and “Get On the Dance Floor.” At a time when rap was still fighting for wider industry recognition, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock helped prove the genre could thrive commercially without losing its club roots. In 2008, VH1 ranked “It Takes Two” among the greatest hip hop songs ever recorded.
After the duo’s peak years, Rob Base continued performing and later released solo material, including the album The Incredible Base. Even as trends in rap evolved across generations, “It Takes Two” remained closely tied to his legacy, introducing younger audiences to a foundational era of hip hop through constant rediscovery in movies, television, and live events.
The loss also marks the end of a partnership already marked by tragedy. DJ E-Z Rock died in 2014 at age 46 following complications related to diabetes. With Rob Base’s death, hip hop loses another artist whose work helped carry rap music from neighborhood block parties into the cultural mainstream.