Rob Base, the rapper known for the certified platinum song “It Takes Two,” died on Friday, according to a statement on his official social media account. He was 59.
Mr. Base had cancer, according to a post on Instagram.
In his 1988 hit song, “It Takes Two,” with DJ E-Z Rock, he begins with, “I wanna rock right now / I’m Rob Base and I came to get down / I’m not internationally known / But I’m known to rock the microphone.”
It was featured as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 best songs of all time.
“The 1988 tune remains the single greatest use of a looped drum break in rap history,” the magazine wrote in 2018. It called it “the hip-hop equivalent” to the guitar solo in “Stairway to Heaven.”
The song was also included in VH1’s list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs in 2008.
The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of more than one million copies.
The song was often played at Major League Baseball games after a double play.
Other artists sampled the song, including Mac Miller on “Play Ya Cards” and Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Rock.”
Mike WiLL Made-It, Lil Yachty and Carly Rae Jepsen remade the song for a Target ad.
In “The Proposal,” Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds jokingly sang the song together.
Tributes to Mr. Base from other rap and hip-hop artists flooded social media.
“I love this guy,” rapper Fat Joe wrote on Instagram. “He was a big inspiration.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff posted on social media “Wow…” with broken heart emojis.
Mr. Base was born Robert Ginyard on May 18, 1967, in Harlem in Manhattan, according to the social media post and his talent agency, Celebrity Talent Agency Inc.
He started his career as a D.J., playing at parties and clubs in the New York City area, according to his agency.
Mr. Base was a headliner of the “I Love the 90s Tour,” alongside Vanilla Ice, All-4-One and others.
A full list of survivors for Mr. Base was not immediately available. A representative for Mr. Base could not be immediately reached on Friday night.
