Rob Base, one half of the seminal Harlem duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, died on Friday (May 22) after a private battle with cancer. He was 59.

“Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,” a statement on his Instagram page read. “Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.”

Born Robert Ginyard in New York City in 1967, Rob Base first connected with DJ E-Z Rock (Rodney Bryce) in fourth grade. “I had moved from the Bronx at that time and I didn’t have any friends around the way,” Base told XXL in 2014, following E-Z Rock’s death due to complications from diabetes. “So when I went to school, him and me sat at the back of the class and we just clicked from there.”

Although Base kicked off his career as a DJ, performing at parties and clubs around the New York area, the two stayed close, debuting their first joint single, “DJ Interview,” in 1986. The track secured them a deal with Profile Records, and “It Takes Two” became their first release on the label. The 1987 song rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and eventually went multiplatinum. According to Base, he never expected it to have traction outside their home city. “We were just happy that it was a song that the people in the Bronx and Harlem knew,” he told XXL. “We didn’t think it would cross over the way that it did.”

After the song’s success, the duo followed it up with a debut album of the same name, which featured additional hits “Joy and Pain” and “Get On the Dance Floor.” Base also released a solo album, The Incredible Base, in 1989. In recent years, he had been performing across the country as part of the “I Love the ‘90s Tour” with Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd, Young MC, and Tone Loc.

Since news of Base’s death broke, tributes have rolled in from Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Fat Joe, and more. “He was one of the gentleman of this thing we call hip-hop,” Grandmaster Flash shared in a video message. “Great conversationalist, fun guy, cool guy—electric on stage.”

Read more about “It Takes Two” at No. 138 in The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s.