Audio Two

Origins

Audio Two was a Brooklyn duo built around two brothers: Kirk Robinson, who rapped as Milk Dee, and Nat Robinson, who worked the turntables as DJ Gizmo. The pair started releasing records in the mid-1980s, debuting with the novelty-leaning "A Christmas Rhyme" in 1985. They recorded for First Priority Music, the family-run Brooklyn label that also launched MC Lyte, which explains the long-running rumor that the brothers were her siblings. They were labelmates and close collaborators, not relatives.

"Top Billin'"

Their defining moment arrived almost by accident. In 1987 First Priority issued "Make It Funky" as a single, with "Top Billin'" tucked onto the flip side. Milk Dee built the stripped-down, drum-heavy beat himself, and Daddy-O of Stetsasonic is credited with helping produce it. Over that skeleton, Milk Dee delivered a cocky, conversational run of boasts that DJs quickly embraced. The B-side overtook the A-side in clubs and on mixshow radio, and it became the song the group would be known for from then on.

The record's pull was so strong that both of the duo's following albums took their titles from its lyrics. What More Can I Say? came out on First Priority and Atlantic in 1988, reaching No. 45 on Billboard's R&B/hip hop albums chart, and I Don't Care: The Album followed in 1990. A third LP, The First Dead Indian, appeared in 1992, after which the group wound down.

Later Careers

Both brothers stayed in music behind the scenes. Milk Dee issued a solo EP, Never Dated, on American Recordings in 1994 and went on to production work, including Eamon's 2004 hit. He also added a verse to a 2007 remix of 50 Cent's "I Get Money," a song that itself leaned on the "Top Billin'" hook. Gizmo reinvented himself as a studio engineer, credited on R&B projects for artists such as Donell Jones, Jaheim and Tyrese. MC Lyte revisited the song in 1998 with a remake that featured Milk Dee.

Legacy

Few late-1980s rap records have been recycled as often. By Wikipedia's count, pieces of "Top Billin'" have been sampled or interpolated in more than 300 songs, from Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" to Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Otis." Rolling Stone placed it at No. 43 on its 2012 list of the 50 greatest hip hop songs, and the track has shown up in video games including Grand Theft Auto IV and NBA 2K22. For a song that started life as filler on the back of a 12-inch, it has had a remarkably long run.