Ant Banks

Anthony Banks Known Simply As Ant Banks Is A Producer And Rapper From Oakland California. 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 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. 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. The Track "Teachers" Has A Clear Ant Banks Influence With Its Distinctive Dirty Bass Line. read less