Rodney Bryce, better known as DJ E-Z Rock, died over the weekend at age 46, TMZ reports.
DJ E-Z Rock and partner Rob Base became one of the most popular rap duos in the 1980s with their hit song "It Takes Two." The single and the album when double platinum, according to TMZ.
"Among the many who've sampled the Harlem-based duo's hit over the years are Snoop Dogg ('I Wanna Rock'), Mac Miller ('Play Ya Cards'), the Black Eyed Peas ('Rock That Body') and Gang Starr ('Suckas Need Bodyguards'), as well as Girl Talk, LL Cool J, Will Smith and Meek Mill," MTV reports.
Details of DJ E-Z Rock's cause of death have yet to be released. Rolling Stone reports Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock had been friends since the fourth grade. DJ E-Z Rock reportedly explained to Pennsylvania newspaper The Morning Call in 1991 how their music career began.
R.I.P. TO EZ ROCK FROM ROB BASE AND EZ ROCK YOU WILL TRULY BE MISSED. .
— BIZ MARKIE (@BizMarkie) April 27, 2014
"Back then, there were other groups and we used to see other people perform," E-Z Rock told The Morning Call. "I bought a set of turntables and he bought a mic."
DJ E-Z Rock also recalled how quickly "It Takes Two" to off after they received a phone call from hip-hop label Profile Records the day after they sent over the song.
According to Rolling Stone, Base spoke to The Boombox in 2011 about what influenced the rap duo's music in the 90s.
"Well, I know definitely I was one of the first artists to do the hip-hop and R&B thing," Base said. "When we did it, I just wanted to do something different. I didn't want to do the same thing that the other groups were doing at the time. So we just did it that way and I really didn't care what people said. There were a few groups that were saying, 'Oh, you're selling out. You're this, you're that.' And I look at them now and they can't even get one show."
