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Audio Two | |
|---|---|
 Gizmo and Milk Dee | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1985–1992 |
| Labels | First Priority Music/Atlantic Records |
| Members | Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson Nat "Gizmo" Robinson |
Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". [1]
The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was the B-side, "Top Billin'", that became the chart hit. The beat — made by Milk Dee and produced by Daddy-O of Stetsasonic [2] — and Milk Dee's lyrics would be sampled and referenced time and time again, even by the group itself: both the group's full-length debut, 1988's What More Can I Say? and its 1990 follow-up, I Don't Care: The Album, were titled after lines from the song. [1] However, the duo would never recapture its initial success. The singles of its second album, "I Get the Papers" and "On the Road Again," were only moderate hits. It was a time of rapid change in the hip hop market; gangsta rap was rising in popularity, and Audio Two found itself unsuccessfully struggling to maintain recording contracts and a fanbase.
Audio Two did, however, pave the way for the duo's labelmate MC Lyte, who launched her career with the hit single I Cram to Understand U (Sam). Lyte's 1998 album Seven & Seven featured a remake of "Top Billin'" — with the original instrumental — this time a duet between her and Milk. It has been a widely circulated rumor that both members of Audio Two were brothers of MC Lyte; however, this is untrue. [3] In 1994, Milk released a solo EP titled Never Dated on Rick Rubin's American Recordings. While the EP was notable for its single "Spam," a duet with the Beastie Boys' Adrock with drum programming by Mike D, aside from the devoted Beastie Boys fanbase the album generated little interest. Milk eventually rediscovered success by producing the singer Eamon, who recorded the 2004 hit "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)."
In 2007, Milk Dee recorded a verse for a remix of "I Get Money" by 50 Cent, thanking all the music artists that sampled "Top Billin'," which earned him royalties.
In recent years, Audio Two member Gizmo became a recording engineer under the name "You Can Ask" Giz. His audio work has appeared on albums by Donell Jones, Calvin Richardson, Jaheim and Tyrese, among others. [4]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] | US R&B /HH [6] | ||
| What More Can I Say? |
| 185 | 45 |
| I Don't Care: The Album |
| — | 74 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
| Title | Details | Track listings |
|---|---|---|
| Flip-Flop Mini-Album (with The Alliance) [lower-alpha 1] |
| Track listing
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Rap [9] | |||
| "A Christmas Rhyme" [10] | 1985 | — | Non-album single |
| "Make it Funky" [11] | 1987 | — | What More Can I Say? |
| "Top Billin'" | — | ||
| "Hickeys Around My Neck" [12] | 1988 | — | |
| "Many Styles/The Questions" [13] | — | ||
| "I Don't Care" [14] | — | ||
| "On The Road Again/Interlude One" | 1990 | 16 | I Don't Care: The Album |
| "I Get the Papers" [15] | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
"Real Love" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige from her debut studio album, What's the 411? (1992). Based on real life experiences, it was written and produced by Cory Rooney and Mark Morales, and samples Audio Two's 1987 song "Top Billin'". The song was issued as the album's second single on July 28, 1992 by Uptown and MCA. It became Blige's first top-10 hit, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rhythmic charts and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 4, 1992. Marcus Raboy directed the song's music video. Rolling Stone included "Real Love" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021 at number 327.
Lyte as a Rock is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on April 19, 1988 via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and featured production from Audio Two, Prince Paul, King of Chill and his group, Alliance.
What More Can I Say? is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Audio Two. It was released in 1988 through First Priority Records with distribution by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place at I.N.S. Studios, Such-A-Sound Studio and First Priority Lab in New York City. Production was handled by its members Milk Dee and DJ Gizmo with Daddy-O and the King of Chill. The album found only mild success, making it to #185 on the Billboard 200 and #45 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. What More Can I Say? spawned four singles: "Make It Funky"/"Top Billin'", "Hickeys Around My Neck", "Many Styles"/"The Questions" and "I Don't Care". The song "I Like Cherries" was previously released on Flip-Flop Mini-Album, a 1986 split mini-LP dropped with the Alliance.
I Don't Care: The Album is the second and final studio album by American hip hop duo Audio Two. It was released in 1990 through First Priority Music with distribution by Atlantic Records. Production was handled by its members Milk Dee and DJ Gizmo along with the King of Chill and Terence Dudley. It features guest appearances from MC Lyte and Positive K. I Don't Care: The Album was not a success, only peaking at number 74 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and spawning two singles: "On the Road Again" and "I Get the Papers". Its lead single, "On the Road Again", peaked at number 16 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.
Eyes on This is the second studio album American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on October 3, 1989, via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and featured production from Audio Two, as well as Grand Puba, The King of Chill, Marley Marl and PMD.
Act Like You Know is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on September 17, 1991, by First Priority Music, distributed by Atlantic Records, and featured production from Audio Two, The 45 King, Ivan "Doc" Rodriguez, The King of Chill, Pal Joey, Epic Mazur, Richard Wolf and DJ Master Tee.
First Priority Music (FPM) was an American hip hop record label of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which later released contemporary R&B and country music, among others. A small independent, it formed distribution relationships first with Atlantic Records, and later on with Jive/Zomba.
Antoinette Lovell Patterson, known simply by the mononym Antoinette, is an American rapper from Bronx, New York, who released two albums, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"Cold Rock a Party" is the lead single released from American rapper MC Lyte's fifth studio album, Bad As I Wanna B (1996). While the original version of the song that appears on the album was produced by Rashad Smith and samples Audio Two's "Top Billin", the single version features Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, was produced by Sean Combs, and samples Diana Ross' 1980 hit "Upside Down".
The following is the discography of MC Lyte, an American hip hop musician.
"Reminisce" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige from her debut album, What's the 411? (1992). It was co-written by Kenny Greene and Dave "Jam" Hall, who also produced it. Described as a new jack swing song inspired by 1970s soul music, it contains a sample of "Stop, Look, Listen" (1989) by American rapper MC Lyte. The single peaked at number fifty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A more uptempo and hip hop-inspired remix of the song, featuring duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth, later appeared on Blige's 1993 remix album of the same name.
The discography of Whodini consists of six studio albums and twenty-seven singles.
"Paper Thin" is the third single from MC Lyte's debut album Lyte as a Rock. It is produced by King of Chill, who along with Lyte has songwriting credits.
10% Dis is a single from MC Lyte's album Lyte as a Rock produced by the hip hop duo Audio Two, who are also credited as songwriters.
"Stop, Look, Listen" is a song by MC Lyte with DJ K-Rock, released as the second single from Lyte's second album Eyes on This. It was published on February 1, 1990. In its single version it is an Audio Two remix of the original version of the LP produced by King of Chill.
Cappucino is the third and final single from MC Lyte's album Eyes on This. It was published on August 2, 1990. In its single version it is a remix by Ivan "Doc" Rodríguez of the original version of the album produced by Marley Marl.
"I Cram to Understand U (Sam)" is the debut single by American rapper MC Lyte, in which features their DJ, DJ K-Rock, released in 1987. The song was part of her first album Lyte as a Rock, released the following year.
"Lyte as a Rock" is a 1988 single from the album of the same name by American rapper MC Lyte. Although in its version on the album it is produced by Audio Two, the single and the music video use a house music mix produced by King of Chill. The song was composed by Lyte With Audio Two's Milk Dee.
"I'm Not Havin' It" is a song by American rappers Positive K and MC Lyte. It was included on the 1988 compilation album The First Priority Music Family: Basement Flavor and released as a single the following year. The B-side "A Good Combination", by Positive K as solo artist, is the main song in some versions of the single.
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