Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ rapper, dead at 59
Rob Base, the rapper known for the hit song 'It Takes Two,' has passed away at the age of 59. He died following a private battle with cancer, just days after celebrating his birthday. His music and legacy have left a lasting impact on the hip-hop genre and beyond.
- ▪Rob Base, whose real name was Robert Ginyard, died on Friday after battling cancer.
- ▪He was famous for the 1988 hit 'It Takes Two' alongside DJ E-Z Rock, who passed away in 2014.
- ▪Base's music has been sampled by numerous artists and featured in several films, solidifying his influence in the industry.
13 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 18 hours. Coverage spans 3 points on the political spectrum — 5 lean left, 6 centre, 1 right.
- ▪ Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ rapper with DJ E-Z Rock, dies aged 59 — NME
- ▪ 'It Takes Two' rapper Rob Base dead at 59 after cancer fight he kept hidden from friends — Fox News — Latest
- ▪ Rob Base, Rapper Known for ‘It Takes Two,’ Dies at 59 — NYT > Top Stories
- ▪ ‘It Takes Two’ rapper Rob Base dies at 59 — r/news
- ▪ Rapper Rob Base, known for 'It Takes Two,' dies at 59 — ABC News — Top
- ▪ Rob Base, “It Takes Two” Rapper, Dies at 59 — The Hollywood Reporter
- ▪ ‘It Takes Two’ Rapper Rob Base Dead at 59 — Billboard
- ▪ “It Takes Two” Rapper Rob Base Dead At 59 — Stereogum
- ▪ ‘It Takes Two’ rapper Rob Base dies at 59 — NBC News — Tech
- ▪ “It Takes Two” Rapper Rob Base Dead at 59 — Consequence (of Sound)
- ▪ Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ Rapper, Dies at 59 — Reddit
- ▪ Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ Rapper, Dies at 59 — Variety
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| Original publisher | Page Six |
| Canonical URL | https://pagesix.com/2026/05/22/entertainment/rob-base-it-takes-two-rapper-dead-at-59/ |
| Publication time | Fri, 22 May 2026 19:45:48 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-22T23:47:03.465Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-23T00:21:57.533Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
| Excerpt method | First ~120 words (~800 chars) of extracted publisher body, fair-use limited. |
| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | _bMkMFrAQW69 · 13 stories |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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Music Rob Base, ‘It Takes Two’ rapper, dead at 59 By BreAnna Bell Published May 22, 2026, 7:45 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results. Add Page Six on Google Rob Base, the rapper who made up one-half of a rap duo with DJ E-Z Rock that created the hit “It Takes Two,” has died. He was 59 years old. The rapper — whose real name was Robert Ginyard — died on Friday following a private battle with cancer, according to a statement shared on his Instagram. “Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,” the post read.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Page Six.