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Ant Banks | |
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Birth name | Anthony Lamont Banks [1] |
Born | Oakland, California, U.S. | May 16, 1966
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | Jive, Priority |
Anthony Lamont Banks (born March 4, 1966) [2] is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California. [3]
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2019) |
As a child, he took part in a band at school and then learned to play a variety of instruments along the way. At school he only learned classical music, but at home he taught himself to play funk music like Parliament, Funkadelic and The Gap Band on his digital keyboard. Interested in making music, he would create beats and record his own versions for fun.
Banks would later record tapes with his friend, Oakland rapper MC Ant, and sell them at their high school 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.
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.
He has produced songs for Too Short, [4] E-40, Spice 1, Snoop Dogg and 3X Krazy to name a few. In 1993, he engaged in a beef with Oakland rapper Pooh-Man.
In 1996, Banks appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America Is Dying Slowly , alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine.
In 1999 Banks started a group T.W.D.Y. (acronym for "The Whole Damn Yay"). Banks himself, Rappin' 4-Tay and Captain Save'm were the original members. Their debut album Derty Werk was released in 1999 and contained the single "Players Holiday", featuring Too Short, Mac Mall, Otis & Shug. The single received a lot of radio play. Also, Ant Banks settled his long time beef with Pooh-Man when they appeared together on the track, "Ride Wit Me". In 2000, T.W.D.Y. released their second and final album Lead the Way ; Ant Banks and Captain Save'm remained while Dolla Will replaced Rappin' 4-Tay.
He is also known as "The Big Badass" and released an album of the same 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.
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the west coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Aftermath Records belonging to Dr. Dre, and others.
Anthony H. Forté, better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California.
Todd Anthony Shaw, better known by the stage name Too Short, is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival. This is respectively exemplified in his most popular songs "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto".
Snoop Dogg Presents: Tha Eastsidaz is the eponymous debut studio album by American Gangsta rap group Tha Eastsidaz. It was released on February 1, 2000, on Dogghouse Records and TVT Records. The album was recorded at Dogghouse Studio, Music Grinder & Skip Saylor Recording, Hollywood, California.
The Dangerous Crew was an American hip hop band formed by Oakland, California rapper and producer Todd "Too Short" Shaw. The Dangerous Crew consisted of both live musicians and rappers: Stuart "Shorty B" Jordan, Ramone "Pee-Wee" Gooden, Anthony "Ant" Banks, Sean G, and rappers Too Short, Mhisani "Goldy" Miller, FM Blue, Dangerous Dame, Russell "Rappin' Ron" Royster, Ant Diddley Dog, Robert "Spice 1" Green Jr. and Damani "Father Dom" Khaleel. The Dangerous Crew also had an R&B group known as About Face, who appeared on a few of the later releases by Too Short.
Tracy Lamar Davis, better known by his stage name Big Tray Deee, is an American rapper signed with Snoop Dogg's label Dogghouse Records.
Get In Where You Fit In is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Too Short. It was released on October 26, 1993 through Jive Records, making it his fifth release for the label. Recording sessions took place at Dangerous Studios. Production was handled by The Dangerous Crew and Quincy Jones III. It features guest appearances from Ant Banks, Ant Diddley Dog, Father Dom, FM Blue, Mhisani, Pee Wee, Rappin' Ron, Ronese Levias and Spice 1.
Hits II: Ganked & Gaffled is second greatest hits album by American rapper Spice 1. It was released February 20, 2001 on Mobb Status Entertainment. The album features production by Ant Banks, Blackjack, E-A-Ski, Mike Dean, Paris, Rick Rock, Sam Bostic and Spice 1. It features songs from all of Spice 1's previous albums, as well as guest appearances from the albums: Hard to Hit, In a Major Way, Lost and the single "I Got 5 on It". The album features performances by 2Pac, E-40, Luniz, Dru Down, Shock G, Richie Rich, Roger Troutman, Too Short, 8Ball and Rappin' 4-Tay.
Big Thangs is a compilation presented by American rapper and producer, Ant Banks. It was released July 8, 1997 on Priority Records. The album contains no tracks on which Ant Banks himself raps but instead is a compilation of tracks that Ant Banks produced and composed, performed by various West Coast rap artists. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 20 on the Billboard 200.
Noo Trybe Records was an American hip hop record label established in 1994 by Eric L. Brooks and operated as a sublabel of Virgin Records. It worked with several independent hip hop labels including Rap-A-Lot Records and AWOL.
The Big Badass is the second studio album by the American rapper and producer Ant Banks.
The discography of Spice 1 consists of 15 studio albums, one EP, 11 compilation albums and six charting singles.
Don't Fight the Feelin' is the second studio album by American rapper Rappin' 4-Tay from San Francisco, California. It was released on July 26, 1994 via Chrysalis Records and Rag Top Records. Recording session took place at Graffiti Tunez in West Oakland, at Buck Fifty Records, at Bay View Productions, at Sucka Free City and at JT's in the Mo. Production was handled by Ant Banks, Black C of RBL Posse, Cyrus Esteban, Gigolo G, J-Mack, JT the Bigga Figga, Lil' Fly, T.C., and Franky J, who also served as executive producer. The album features guest appearances from fellow San Francisco-based rappers JT the Bigga Figga, Lil' Fly and Seff tha Gaffla.
The Appearances of Keak da Sneak is a compilation album released by rapper, Keak da Sneak featuring songs from various previously released albums in which he had a guest appearance. It was released on October 23, 2001 for Moe Doe Records and was produced by Ant Banks, One Drop Scott and Tone Capone. Many guests appeared on the album, including Luniz, Mac Dre and his group, 3X Krazy. It sold 5,000 copies in its first week on shelves.
Ant Banks Presents T.W.D.Y.: Derty Werk is the debut studio album by American hip hop supergroup T.W.D.Y.. It was released on April 20, 1999 via Thump Street Records. Production was handled entirely by member Ant Banks, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Otis & Shug, Gripsta, Playa Metro, Too $hort, Agerman, B-Legit, CJ Mac, Dolla Will, J-Dubb, Keak da Sneak, Mac Mall, Mac Shawn, MC Ant, Pooh-Man and Spice 1.
Otis & Shugg are an American singing duo from Oakland, California, with two members: Otis Cooper and Rafael "Shugg" Howell.
In-a-Minute Records was a record company founded in 1991 by Jason Blaine. It featured many artists from the underground bay area rap scene including RBL Posse, Andre Nickatina, I.M.P, Pooh-Man, Totally Insane. The label was shut down in 2000.