Rodney Bryce, who made his mark on hip-hop under the name DJ E-Z Rock, died Sunday, a spokesperson for Bryce’s friend and collaborator Rob Base confirmed to Rolling Stone. The cause of death has yet to be revealed. He was 46.
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock released their first single in 1986, but it would be 1988’s iconic track “It Takes Two” that would cement the duo into hip-hop history.
Produced by Teddy Riley and built around a vocal sample from Lyn Collins’ 1972 hit “Think (About It),” the song blended hip-hop with house music and became a nationwide hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and helping to lift rap into the pop consciousness. The track would later be sampled by Snoop Dogg, Gang Starr, Girl Talk and South Korean girl group 2NE1, among many others, and has long become a pop culture staple.
The album was certified platinum in 1989 and reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200, an impressive feat for a hip-hop album at the time.
Rob Base and E-Z Rock both grew up in Harlem, becoming friends in the fourth grade. “Back then, there were other groups and we used to see other people perform,” E-Z Rock told Pennsylvania newspaper The Morning Call in 1991. “I bought a set of turntables and he bought a mic.”
Information from Rolling Stone and The Morning Call contributed to this report.
What projects or street address did they grow up in?