Ant Banks
Background information
Birth name	Anthony Banks
Born	Oakland, California
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, Producer
Years active	1987 – present
Labels	Jive, Priority
Associated acts	Too Short, Spice 1, The Dangerous Crew, Pooh-Man

Anthony Banks, known simply as Ant Banks, is a producer and rapper from Oakland, California.^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2.1 Solo albums 2.2 With T.W.D.Y. 3 Albums with Ant Banks production 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

As a child he took part in a band at 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.^[2]

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.^[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.^[2]

He has produced songs for Too Short, 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 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 "Player's Holiday", featuring Too Short and Mac Mall. The single received a lot of radio play. Also, Ant Banks settled his long time beef with Pooh-Man when he appeared 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 4-Tay.^[3]

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.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo albums

• 1993: Sittin' on Somethin' Phat
• 1994: The Big Badass
• 1995: Do or Die
• 1997: Big Thangs

[edit] With T.W.D.Y.

• 1999: Derty Werk
• 2000: Lead The Way

[edit] Albums with Ant Banks production

• Pooh-Man - Funky As I Wanna Be (1992)
• Too Short - Shorty the Pimp (1992)
• Too Short - Get in Where You Fit In (1993)
• Too Short - Cocktails (1995)
• Too Short - Gettin' It (1995)
• Too Short - Can't Stay Away (1999)
• Too Short - You Nasty (2000)
• Too Short - Chase the Cat (2001)
• Too Short - Married to the Game (2003)
• Spice 1 - Let It Be Known (1991)
• Spice 1 - Spice 1 (1992)
• Spice 1 - 187 He Wrote (1993)
• Spice 1 - AmeriKKKa's Nightmare (1994)
• Spice 1 - 1990-Sick (1995)
• Spice 1 - The Black Bossalini (a.k.a. Dr. Bomb from Da Bay) (1997)
• Dru Down - Dru Down (1993)
• Dru Down - Explicit Game (1994)
• Rappin' 4-Tay - Don't Fight the Feelin' (1994)
• Rappin' 4-Tay - 4 Tha Hard Way (1997)
• Goldy - In The Land Of Funk (1994)
• Rappin' Ron & Ant Diddley Dog - Bad N-Fluenz (1995)
• The Dangerous Crew - Don't Try This At Home (1995)
• Gangsta P - Meet The Lil Gangsta (1995)
• Mr. ILL - Rebirth (1996)
• E-40 - Tha Hall of Game (1996)
• E-40 - The Element of Surprise (1998)
• Mac Mall - Untouchable (1996)
• Mack 10 - Based on a True Story (1997)
• 187 Fac - Fac Not Fiction (1997)
• MC Breed - Flatline (1997)
• 3X Krazy - Stackin' Chips (1997)
• Bad Azz - Word on Tha Street (1998)
• WC - The Shadiest One (1998)
• Snoop Dogg - No Limit Top Dogg (1999)
• CJ Mac - Platinum Game (1999)
• MC Eiht - Section 8 (1999)
• B-Legit - Hempin' Ain't Easy (1999)
• Dual Committee - Dual Committee (2000)
• Captain Save 'Em - My Cape Is In The Cleaners (2000)
• The Click - Money & Muscle (2001)
• Celly Cel - Song'z U Can't Find (2002)
• King Tee - The Kingdom Come (2002)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ant Banks at MySpace