Ant Banks


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

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.
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, 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.. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

;1989
;1990
;1991
;1992
;1993
;1994
;1995
  • Gangsta P - Meet The Lil Gangsta
  • Rappin' Ron & Ant Diddley Dog - Bad N-Fluenz
  • South Central Cartel - S.C.C. Presents Murder Squad Nationwide
  • Spice 1 - 1990-Sick
  • Too Short - Cocktails
;1996
  • C.R.I.S.I.S. - Crazy Real Insane Soldiers In Sacramento
  • E-40 - Tha Hall of Game
  • Mac Mall - Untouchable
  • Mr. ILL - Rebirth
  • Too Short - Gettin' It
  • Various Artists - America Is Dying Slowly
;1997
  • 187 Fac - Fac Not Fiction
  • 3X Krazy - Stackin' Chips
  • Mack 10 - Based on a True Story
  • MC Breed - Flatline
  • Rappin' 4-Tay - 4 Tha Hard Way
  • Spice 1 - The Black Bossalini
  • Various Artists - In tha Beginning…There Was Rap
;1998
;1999
;2000
  • Captain Save 'Em - My Cape is in the Cleaners
  • Dual Committee - Dual Committee
  • Too Short - You Nasty
  • Various Artists - Romeo Must Die
  • Various Artists - Too Gangsta for Radio
;2001
  • The Click - Money & Muscle
  • Too Short - Chase the Cat
;2002
  • Celly Cel - Song'z U Can't Find
  • King T - The Kingdom Come
  • Too Short - What's My Favorite Word?
;2003
  • Too Short - Married to the Game
;2004
;2007