{"id":3228,"date":"2026-05-23T00:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T00:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/rob-base-it-takes-two-rapper-dead-at-59\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T00:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T00:00:33","slug":"rob-base-it-takes-two-rapper-dead-at-59","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/rob-base-it-takes-two-rapper-dead-at-59\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Base, &#8216;It Takes Two&#8217; rapper, dead at 59"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/128527598.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Rob Base, the rapper who made up one-half of a rap duo with DJ E-Z Rock that created the hit \u201cIt Takes Two,\u201d has died. He was 59 years old.<\/p>\n<p>The rapper \u2014 whose real name was Robert Ginyard \u2014 died on Friday following a private battle with cancer, according to a statement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYp7wbCh7vH\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shared on his Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRob\u2019s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,\u201d the post read. \u201cBeyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Rob Base, seen here performing during the \u201cI Love the 90\u2019s\u201d tour in August 2016, has died. He was 59 years old. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A statement shared to the late rapper\u2019s Instagram revealed he died following a private battle with cancer. (Seen above is Base performing in August 2016). <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>It closed: \u201cThank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Base\u2019s impact was immediately felt among the music industry as stars flooded the comments under the post with their condolences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWTF? I was just on the phone with him a couple of months ago to clear a sample, he didn\u2019t say anything about him being sick!!! This is terrible smh,\u201d wrote Kid Capri.<\/p>\n<p>Fat Joe added, \u201cLove Rob I\u2019m so sorry,\u201d and DJ Jazzy Jeff commented, \u201cRest Well My Brother \ud83d\udc94\ud83d\udc94\ud83d\udc94.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Rob (seen here posing for a portrait in 1989) \u2014 born Robert Ginyard \u2014 rose to fame in 1988 as one-half of the duo behind the hit \u201cIt Takes Two.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The song, which he created alongside his musical partner DJ E-Z Rock, would quickly go on to become a smash hit that would be sampled by future artists like Snoop Dogg and The Black Eyed Peas and appear in numerous films. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The rapper had just celebrated his 59th birthday four days prior to his death, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYfnHw1J7gr\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sharing an Instagram post<\/a> to mark his special day and writing, \u201cGod thank you for allowing me to see another year\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Base rose to fame alongside his music partner DJ E-Z Rock \u2014 who died in 2014 at age 46 \u2014 in 1988 with their smash hit \u201cIt Takes Two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The single would ultimately become a defining anthem within the hip-hop genre and was later sampled by artists like Snoop Dogg, who used it in his 2009 song \u201cI Wanna Rock,\u201d and The Black Eyed Peas, who sampled the song in their 2009 track \u201cRock Your Body, to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>The song was also sampled by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (a.k.a. Will Smith) for their 1993 song \u201cI Wanna Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The rapper (pictured here arriving at \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d in February 2022) was also known for songs like \u201cJoy and Pain\u201d and \u201cGet on the Dance Floor.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>More recently, Rob (seen above posing for a photo at the Hot House Party in June 2015) was a performer on the \u201cI Love the 90\u2019s\u201d tour alongside the likes of Vanilla Ice and Young MC. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The song was also famously featured in films like 2000\u2019s \u201cLove &amp; Basketball,\u201d 2010\u2019s \u201cIron Man 2\u201d and 2018\u2019s \u201cBumblebee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock were also known for songs like \u201cGet on the Dance Floor\u201d and \u201cJoy and Pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In more recent years, Base was a performer on the \u201cI Love the 90\u2019s Tour,\u201d doing shows alongside fellow \u201990s mainstays like Vanilla Ice and Young MC.<\/p>\n<p>He also mentored the next generation of artists through his company, Funky Base, Inc. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/22\/entertainment\/rob-base-it-takes-two-rapper-dead-at-59\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rob Base, the rapper who made up one-half of a rap duo with DJ E-Z<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128527598.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}