The name Rob Base will forever be etched in popular consciousness, as the rapping voice over "It Takes Two," his classic collaboration with then-partner DJ E-Z Rock. Heard at NBA games and on TV shows, its become a ubiquitous method to pump up crowds. His career took a hit when soul legend Frankie Beverly sued over the re-interpolation of a Maze hit, "Joy and Pain," and E-Z Rock was soon a memory as well (Base cited "personal problems" as why the collaborator left). Even with a subsequent release, 1989's The Incredible Base, the luster had worn off his stardom and he was relegated to the hip-hop history bin.

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"I wanna rock right now/ I'm Rob Base and I came to get down/ I'm not internationally known/ but I'm known to rock a microphone" -- what hip-hop fan doesn't feel a little bit of an adrenaline rush when those words come flying out of a speaker?