It Takes Two (Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock song)

"It Takes Two"
Single by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
from the album It Takes Two
Released August 2, 1988 (1988-08-02)
Format Vinyl
Recorded 1988
Genre Golden age hip hop
Length 5:00 (album version)
4:32 (radio edit)
Label Profile Records
Writer(s) Robert Ginyard
Producer(s) Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, William Hamilton
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock singles chronology
"It Takes Two"
(1988)		 "Get on the Dance Floor"
(1988)

"It Takes Two" is a song by New York Hip house artists Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top 40 hit single was later certified platinum by the RIAA. Over the years the song has been covered and sampled by various recording artists. As stated by music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the All Music Guide, "There are many critics and listeners who claim that Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock's 'It Takes Two' is the greatest hip-hop single ever cut. It's hard to disagree with them."[1]

Composition and background

The song samples heavily from Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)",[2] using multiple drum breaks, the well known "Yeah! Woo!" sample, as well as the lyric sung by Collins which gives It Takes Two its title.[3] The famous introduction of the song is spoken over a sample of "Space Dust" by The Galactic Force Band (1978).

Music video

The music video "It Takes Two" was edited by Peter Lauer and Pam Thomas, who worked in MTV’s promotions department alongside Peter Dougherty, Ted Demme and Mark Pellington.

The music video was filmed in 16mm by Steven Gladstone and Ilona Lieberman. The majority of the music video was filmed on a variety of 16mm Fuji Film stocks, using two standard 16 Bolex cameras and a single constant speed electric motor that was shared between the two cameras.

The first scene, where the DJ and little boy are talking, was shot in a record store in Harlem.[4]

The interior dance sequences were not part of the original production. The entire film "budget" was four 100 foot rolls of 16mm film, which did not result in there being enough coverage, which explains the use of the xerography, and the insertion of the shots from the dance hall that do not match the video. The shot of a lone figure in a graveyard introducing the song (before the music starts) was indeed taken in a cemetery. There was no lighting budget, so the D.P.'s Volkswagen Bus, which had suffered a collision during travel to the shoot location, was driven to the gate of the cemetery, and the vehicle's headlights were used to illuminate the shot. The artist is reported to have paid the "producer" $5,000 for the video, the production crew remains unpaid to this day, and it is unclear how much, if any, of the $5,000 was actually spent on making the video.[4]

Sampling and covers

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 24
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 36
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[6] 3
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[6] 17

See also

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock: It Takes Two: Composed by Robert Ginyard: Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Lester, Paul (11 July 2012). "New band of the week Maxsta (No 1,306)". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rob Base & DJ EZ- Rock's It Takes Two sample of Lyn Collins's Think (About It)". whosampled.com. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 Steven Gladstone, Director of Photography for the music video of "It Takes Two"
  5. ↑ http://www.whosampled.com/sample/14963/Lil'-Romeo-Master-P-Silkk-the-Shocker-2-Way-Rob-Base-%26-DJ-E-Z-Rock-It-Takes-Two/
  6. 1 2 3 "Rob Base - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-26.

External links

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