C+C Music Factory Rapper, Rob Base Holding ’90s Dance Party

Do you like the 90s? Specifically: Do you like the really, really early 90s, perhaps even going so far back as to hit the late 80s? Then Harrah’s Philadelphia, the casino on the waterfront in Chester, has a concert for you: This Friday, July 3rd, DJ Rob Base and Freedom Williams of C+C Music Factory will be performing at a 90s party at the casino’s new Block Entertainment Center.

Rob Base is best known for his 1988 top-40 hit “It Takes Two” with DJ EZ Rock, who died in April of 2014. No other Base song cracked that high on the charts, though Base’s second album went gold. “There are many critics and listeners who claim that Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock’s ‘It Takes Two’ is the greatest hip-hop single ever cut. It’s hard to disagree with them,” Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote at All Music Guide, though I wouldn’t go that far myself.

C+C Music Factory was founded in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. Freedom Williams came on as the rapper for the group’s first album, Gonna Make You Sweat. That 1990 release went five-times platinum and spawned three top-5 hits, including chart topper “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).”

The 21+ concert, which starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, is free. But you have to reserve tickets online ahead of time. Those tickets come with $10 in casino match play and a valet parking voucher. It’s like the casino is paying you to attend in the hopes you’ll lose money gambling and spend lots on drinks!

This is the kickoff event for Harrah’s Philadelphia’s new The Block Entertainment Center. There is a big lineup of events this summer, including more 1990s stars: K7 (of “Come Baby Come” fame) and Philly’s own Crystal Waters (“100% Pure Love”).