The hip-hop world is mourning one of its pioneers after Rob Base died at 59 following a battle with cancer. His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully on May 22 while surrounded by loved ones. Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders took to X to send a tribute to the legendary rapper.

“Prayers to Rob Base’s entire family and loved ones. He was a legend to me,” Coach Prime wrote on his X account.

The timing made the news even sadder. Rob Base, whose real name was Robert Ginyard, had celebrated his birthday only days earlier. Reports said he kept much of his cancer battle private, even from some close friends.

Base gained prominence in the music industry when his hip-hop classic ‘It Takes Two’ became a national sensation. Deion Sanders, at the time playing at Florida State and navigating his NFL and MLB journey, must have encountered it in several places. From locker rooms to stadiums, blaring the track, the song likely brought back nostalgia for Sanders.

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock caught something rare with that record. Not manufactured energy either. Real chemistry. The kind you cannot fake in a studio. Part of that came from how long their friendship had lasted. Reports say the two met as fifth graders growing up in Harlem, long before music, fame, or touring became part of their lives. Eventually, those childhood memories turned into hip-hop history.

Honestly, you could hear that friendship in the music itself. There was humor in it. Loose energy. A feeling that two friends were genuinely enjoying the moment instead of trying to create some perfectly polished image. That is probably why “It Takes Two” aged so well while many songs from that era faded away.

Artists like Rob Base helped shape the sound of that whole era. Back then, rap music was still fighting for mainstream respect in many places. Base helped change that. “It Takes Two” mixed hip-hop and dance music in a way that reached people far outside traditional rap audiences. That unique flavor was the reason the song immediately started soaring on the Billboard Dance and Club charts, earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Now that Base has left the world, that song will be an eternal reminder of his legacy and of how he changed hip-hop culture, bringing it to mainstream success.

Coach Prime’s own battle with cancer

Deion Sanders’ public tributes after hearing about Base’s passing show the extra emotion because he himself knows what a cancer fight feels like. Back in 2025, Sanders revealed that doctors diagnosed him with bladder cancer. He underwent bladder removal surgery before announcing that doctors considered him cancer-free afterward. Even then, Sanders openly admitted the recovery process was painful and life-changing. He had his whole family supporting him through the whole ordeal, which made it bearable, but never easy.

“Slowly but surely, I built myself back up. I’m able, I’m strong. It has been a tremendous journey, and I’m truly thankful that God is so good,” Sanders said. “This was not an easy task. … It was dynamic, tough. It wasn’t a cakewalk. And it wasn’t easy. That was a fight, but we made it. …Get checked out, get checked out. It could have been a whole other kind of gathering if I didn’t. … Everyone knows someone who is affected or infected by the ‘C’ word.”

At one point, Sanders even joked about needing a porta-potty near practice because of the effects of surgery. But underneath the humor was a very serious recovery journey. People praised him for being transparent about it because many public figures usually hide those struggles completely. So when Sanders sent prayers after Rob Base’s death, it carried more than just the tribute but also the personal pains.