Ant Banks

Ant Banks (born Anthony Banks, May 16, 1969), is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California.

Biography
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, E-40, Snoop Dogg, and 3X Krazy. In 1993, he engaged in a beef with Oakland rapper Pooh-Man.

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.

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.

Studio albums

 * Sittin' on Somethin' Phat (1993)
 * The Big Badass (1994)
 * Do or Die (1995)

Collaboration albums

 * Don't Try This at Home with The Dangerous Crew (1995)
 * Derty Werk with T.W.D.Y. (1999)
 * Lead the Way with T.W.D.Y. (2000)

Compilation albums

 * Big Thangs (1997)
 * The Best of Ant Banks (1998)

Production discography

 * 1989
 * MC Ant - The Great
 * 1990
 * Pooh-Man - Teardrops (EP)
 * Pooh-Man - Life of a Criminal
 * 1991
 * Spice 1 - Let It Be Known (EP)
 * Various Artists - Juice
 * Dangerous Dame - The Bomb (Single)
 * 1992
 * Dangerous Dame - Same Ole Dame
 * Pooh-Man - Funky As I Wanna Be
 * Spice 1 - Spice 1
 * Too Short - Shorty the Pimp
 * 1993
 * Dru Down - Fools From the Streets
 * Spice 1 - 187 He Wrote
 * Too Short - Get in Where You Fit In
 * Various Artists - Menace II Society
 * 1994
 * Dru Down - Explicit Game
 * Goldy - In The Land Of Funk
 * Rappin' 4-Tay - Don't Fight the Feelin'
 * Spice 1 - AmeriKKKa's Nightmare
 * Various Artists - B-Ball's Best Kept Secret
 * 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 (a.k.a. Dr. Bomb from Da Bay)
 * Various Artists - In tha Beginning…There Was Rap
 * 1998
 * Bad Azz - Word on tha Streets
 * E-40 - The Element of Surprise
 * Eightball - Lost
 * MC Ren - Ruthless for Life
 * Mean Green - Major Players Compilation
 * Rappin' 4-Tay - Bigga Than Da Game
 * WC - The Shadiest One
 * Various Artists - Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A 10th Anniversary Tribute
 * Various Artists - Woo
 * 1999
 * B-Legit - Hempin' Ain't Easy
 * CJ Mac - Platinum Game
 * E-40 - Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire
 * MC Eiht - Section 8
 * Snoop Dogg - No Limit Top Dogg
 * Suge Knight - Represents: Chronic 2000
 * Too Short - Can't Stay Away
 * Keak Da Sneak - Sneakacydal
 * 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
 * Keak Da Sneak - Hi-Tek
 * 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
 * E-40 - The Best of E-40: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
 * Hussein Fatal - Fatalveli, Volume 2: The Mixtape
 * 2007
 * V-White - Perfect Timin'
 * 2019
 * Dann G & MC Magic - Special Lady
 * 2020
 * Too Short & E-40 - Triple Gold Sox
 * Candyman - BLM? Aka Don't Shoot
 * Dru Down - Livin Legend (God Willin), Pt. 1
 * 2021
 * Chris Lockett - Man Up
 * Chris Lockett - Stay With Me
 * 2022
 * Mount Westmore - Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort
 * Mount Westmore - Bad MF's
 * Khoree The Poet - All On Me
 * Khoree The Poet - Grown Man Ish

2023

 * J-Dee - The Pay Back Project
 * Kokane & Suga Free - SugaKane

2024

 * Kokane - Da Funkin Adventures of Dr. Kokanstine