Harlem natives Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock recorded their hip-hop classic, “It Takes Two,” in 1988 at Hillside Sound Studio in Englewood, New Jersey, in a process that Base described as magic. They constructed the song around a sample of James Brown alum Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It).” Rhonda Parris sang the hook, and they also sampled “Amen Brother” by The Winstons. “It Takes Two” took off immediately and was accepted as a hip-hop party must-have, and by June of 1989, the single and album were certified platinum. The success of “It Takes Two” is one of the watershed moments for hip-hop’s crossover appeal. The single still has the ability to jumpstart a party after almost four decades, and Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock are hip-hop legends because of it. DJ E-Z Rock passed in 2014 from a diabetic seizure, but Rob Base continues to perform live.
