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

"It Takes Two" is a song by New York City hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since it was released in 1988 by Profile Records, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"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," noted music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide. "It's hard to disagree with them." Spin magazine published a list titled "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" in 1989 and ranked "It Takes Two" at number one. In 2021, it was listed at number 116 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".

## Composition and background

The song was produced by Rob Base, DJ E-Z Rock, and William Hamilton and built around the "Yeah! Woo!" sample and other elements from Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)." Rhonda Parris was brought in by Profile Records to sing the hook. One of the core elements of the song is the "Amen Break," sampled from Breakbeat Lenny and Breakbeat Lou's Ultimate Breaks and Beats. The song was sampled in November 1989 by the group Seduction in their hit song "Two to Make It Right" (lyrics only) as well as by the Black Eyed Peas in their 2009 hit "Rock That Body."

## Critical reception

Simon Reynolds from Melody Maker wrote, "The Rob Base/E.Z. Rock track is another exercise in attrition through overbearing sensual soul power. They take a shriek of JB at his most histrionic, and turn what is on the original record a singular peak of ecstasy into a jackknifing rhythmic copula that just goes on and on and on, like a locked groove. Climax after climax after climax. The effect is akin to hyperventilation."

## Charts

| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 24 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 36 |
| US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) | 3 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 17 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,000,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||

## "It Takes Scoop"

In 2000, DJ Kool used "It Takes Two" as a basis for his song of the same name, featuring Fatman Scoop. His version charted at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart that July. Fatman Scoop later recorded his own version of DJ Kool's take, retitling it "It Takes Scoop", which features the Crooklyn Clan. It was released as the follow-up to "Be Faithful", which topped the UK Singles Chart in October 2003 and charted worldwide. Fatman Scoop wrote the track with Giotto Bini and Andrea Rizzo, and it was produced by the Crooklyn Clan.
Along with the original "Think (About It)" sample, "It Takes Scoop" contains elements from "Treat 'Em Right" and "Caught Up" by Chubb Rock and "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. Released as a single on February 9, 2004, the song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-40 hit in Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland.

### Release history

| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
| United Kingdom | February 9, 2004 | 12-inch vinylCDcassette | Def JamAV8 | |
| Australia | April 5, 2004 | CD | Def JamAV8 | |

## In popular culture

* The song was used in the films Iron Man 2, Bumblebee, The Proposal, Hey Arnold! The Movie, Sisters, The Disaster Artist, Love & Basketball, Spies in Disguise, and The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart. The Yeah! Woo! drum break was also used in the opening sequence of the unlicensed NES multicart Action 52. The song was also featured on one of the radio stations in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.