Ant Banks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Anthony Banks | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony Banks |
| Born | Bay Area, California |
| Genre(s) | West Coast Hip-Hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, Producer |
| Years active | 1987 – present |
| Associated acts | Too Short |
Anthony Banks, known simply as Ant Banks, is a producer and rapper from Oakland, California.
As a child he took band in school and from there learned to play a variety of instruments along the way. At school he only learned Classical, but at home he taught himself to play Funk related music like Parliament, Funkadelic and The Gap Band on his Casio keyboard. Interested in making music, he would create beats and record his own versions for fun.[1]
Banks would later record tapes with his friend, Oakland rapper MC Ant, and sell them at their high school and out the trunk of their cars. With the lyrics handled by MC Ant and the production by Ant Banks, buzz over the tapes eventually reached the streets, resulting in popularity throughout the city.[2]
In 1987, Banks recorded the debut album by MC Ant titled The Great, which was later released in 1989 through Raw Dog Records. In 1989, he recorded the debut album Let It Be Known by East Bay rapper Spice 1, which was later released in 1991 through Triad Records. Along with the releases of Pooh-Man and Dangerous Dame, Banks managed to sell in the range of 100,000 to 300,000 units with all four albums, without a record label or promotion. This turned him into a prominent figure in the Bay Area hip-hop scene by the early '90s. [3]
He has produced songs for MC Ren, Spice 1, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Goldy and others. In 1993, he engaged in a beef with Oakland rapper Poohman (AKA MC Pooh). He also produced songs for The Dangerous Crew.
In 1999 Banks launched his project group T.W.D.Y. (The Whole Damn Yay). Rappin' 4-Tay and Captain Save'm were the original members. Their debut album was Derty Werk. The album contains the single Player's Holiday, featuring Too Short and Mac Mall. The single received a lot of radio play. In 2000, T.W.D.Y. released the album entitled Lead The Way; Ant Banks and Captain Save'm remained while Dolla Will replaced 4-Tay.[4]
He is also known as "The Big Badass" and released an Album of that name in 1994. His talent for producing "funky" bass lines are well known and have achieved cross-over appreciation in the techno niche. The album liner for Daft Punk's album Homework gives a note of appreciation to Ant Banks for inspiration. The track "Teachers" has a clear Ant Banks influence with its distinctive dirty bass line.
He also produced the album Same Ole Dame by Dangerous Dame, in 1992.[5]
[edit] Discography
- 1993: Sittin' On Somethin' Phat
- 1994: The Big Badass
- 1995: Do or Die
- 1997: Big Thangs
- 1999: T.W.D.Y. - Derty Werk
- 2000: T.W.D.Y. - Lead The Way
