| Ant Banks | |
| Birth Name: | Anthony Banks[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1969 5, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Years Active: | 1987–present |
| Label: | Jive, Priority |
Ant Banks (born Anthony Banks, May 16, 1969),[2] is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California.[3]
Anthony Banks was born in Oakland, California on May 16, 1969. In band lessons at school, he learned to play classical music on a variety of instruments, while teaching himself how to play funk at home on his digital keyboard from bands like Parliament, Funkadelic, and The Gap Band.
Banks went on to produce mixtapes with his friend, Oakland rapper MC Ant, and sell them out of the trunk of their car at their high school. The tapes quickly gained popularity for the duo.
In 1987, Banks, MC Ant, and other friends recorded MC Ant's debut album The Great, released through Raw Dog Records in 1989. Banks also recorded California rapper Spice 1's debut album Let It Be Known, released in 1991 through Triad Records. This production debut, combined with releases from Pooh-Man and Dangerous Dame sold over 100,000 units without record label or promotion, launching Banks into a prominent figure in the early 1990s Bay Area hip hop scene. He went on to produce songs for Too Short,[4] E-40, Snoop Dogg, and 3X Krazy. In 1993, he engaged in a beef with Oakland rapper Pooh-Man. [5]
In 1994, Banks released The Big Badass, an album inspired by his nickname. In 1996, he appeared on America Is Dying Slowly, a compilation CD focused on raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men released by the Red Hot Organization, also featuring Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe.[6]
In 1999, Banks started the group T.W.D.Y. ("The Whole Damn Yay"), with Rappin' 4-Tay and Captain Save'm, releasing their debut album Derty Werk, containing the single "Player's Holiday", featuring Too Short, Mac Mall, and Otis & Shug. The album also marked the end of Banks' beef with Pooh-Man with the two appearing together on the track "Ride Wit' Me". In 2000, T.W.D.Y released their second and final album, Lead the Way, before Rappin' 4-Tay left the group and was replaced by Dolla Will.
His talent for producing basslines is well-known and has achieved cross-over appreciation in the techno genre. The album liner for Daft Punk's album Homework gives a note of appreciation to Ant Banks for inspiration.
https://www.realantbanks.comwww.realantbanks.com