Audio Two

Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, best known for their first hit "Top Billin'".^[1]

Audio Two
Gizmo and Milk Dee
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1985–1992
Labels	First Priority Atlantic
Members	Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson Nat "Gizmo" Robinson

History

Audio Two's trademark song "Top Billin'" launched the duo to popularity.

The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was the B-side, "Top Billin'", that became the chart hit. The beat — made by Milk Dee and produced by Daddy-O of Stetsasonic^[2] — and Milk Dee's lyrics would be sampled and referenced time and time again, even by the group itself: both the group's full-length debut, 1988's What More Can I Say? and its 1990 follow-up, I Don't Care: The Album, were titled after lines from the song.^[1] However, the duo would never recapture its initial success. The singles of its second album, "I Get the Papers" and "On the Road Again," were only moderate hits. It was a time of rapid change in the hip hop market; gangsta rap was rising in popularity, and Audio Two found itself unsuccessfully struggling to maintain recording contracts and a fanbase.

Audio Two did, however, pave the way for the duo's labelmate MC Lyte, who launched her career with the hit single I Cram to Understand U (Sam). Lyte's 1998 album Seven & Seven featured a remake of "Top Billin'" — with the original instrumental — this time a duet between her and Milk. It has been a widely circulated rumor that both members of Audio Two were brothers of MC Lyte; however, this is untrue.^[3] In 1994, Milk released a solo EP titled Never Dated on Rick Rubin's American Recordings. While the EP was notable for its single "Spam," a duet with the Beastie Boys' Adrock with drum programming by Mike D, aside from the devoted Beastie Boys fanbase the album generated little interest. Milk eventually rediscovered success by producing the singer Eamon, who recorded the 2004 hit "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)."

In 2007, Milk Dee recorded a verse for a remix of "I Get Money" by 50 Cent, thanking all the music artists that sampled "Top Billin'," which earned him royalties.

In recent years, Audio Two member Gizmo became a recording engineer under the name "You Can Ask" Giz. His audio work has appeared on albums by Donell Jones, Calvin Richardson, Jaheim and Tyrese, among others.^[4]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [5]	US R&B /HH [6]
What More Can I Say?	Released: June 7, 1988 Label: First Priority/Atlantic Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download	185	45
I Don't Care: The Album	Released: April 17, 1990 Label: First Priority/Atlantic Formats: CD, LP, Cassette	—	74
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Unreleased albums

• The First Dead Indian (1992)^[7]

EPs

List of extended plays

Title	Details	Track listings
Flip-Flop Mini-Album (with The Alliance)[a]	Released: 1986[8] Label: First Priority Formats: LP	Track listing "I Like Cherries" "Chillin'" "The Freshest Slowest Jam" "Where's The Fellas" "We Got The Beat Part II (Rough, Rough)" "Why Oh Girl"

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		US Rap [9]
"A Christmas Rhyme"[10]	1985	—	Non-album single
"Make it Funky"[11]	1987	—	What More Can I Say?
"Top Billin'"		—
"Hickeys Around My Neck"[12]	1988	—
"Many Styles/The Questions"[13]		—
"I Don't Care"[14]		—
"On The Road Again/Interlude One"	1990	16	I Don't Care: The Album
"I Get the Papers"[15]		—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

1. "Published as "The Audio Two".