Delicious Vinyl is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

founded by

Matt Dike Matt Dike (December 2, 1961 – January 16, 2018) was an American music executive, record producer, and DJ. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Delicious Vinyl in 1987. In the 1980s, Dike was artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's studio assistant a ...

and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

History

Michael Ross was a student at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

when he met

, a DJ from New York, in 1983. Dike was working at the Rhythm Lounge in Hollywood. They discovered that they were both members of Impact Record Pool, a service that provided new 12" records to club DJs, and that they shared an interest in

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, and hip-hop. Soon Dike became the top DJ at Power Tools, a club in Los Angeles. In 1987, they founded Delicious Vinyl, an independent record label. Almost immediately the label was a success. Delicious Vinyl's first release was "Crackerjack" by Master Rhyme and "On Fire"/"Cheeba Cheeba" by

Tone Loc Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomina ...

, a Los Angeles gang member. "Cheeba Cheeba" and "Crackerjack" got played on L.A.'s rap radio station KDAY. It caused controversy for criticizing N.W.A. The label really took off after Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" sold 2.5 million copies its first year. It was helped by a video parody of Robert Palmer's " Addicted to Love," but failed to reach the top of the Billboard charts. Tone Loc's follow-up single, "

Funky Cold Medina "Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Matt Dike and Michael Ross, and first performed by American rapper, actor and producer Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album, '' Lōc-ed After Dark'' (1989). The ...

," an ode to an aphrodisiac beverage, sampled Foreigner and

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, and cemented Dike's and Ross's method of inserting rock riffs into rap singles.

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album ''Stone Cold Rhymin found international accla ...

recorded the million-selling hit single " Bust a Move."

Def Jef Def Jef is the stage name of Jeffrey Fortson (born September 27, 1970), an American alternative hip hop musician and rapper of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born in Harlem, New York City. His debut album was 1989's '' Just a Poet wi ...

was the most lyrical rapper in the label's early years, though his two albums ''Just a Poet with Soul'' (1989) and ''Soul Food'' (1991) never achieved the crossover success of Tone Loc and Young MC. The label's third release was a single by

Mellow Man Ace Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (born April 12, 1967), better known as Mellow Man Ace, is a Cuban-American rapper known for bilingual delivery and novelty rhymes. He was born in Cuba and moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of four. Early life ...

that is one of the earliest instances of hip hop recorded in Spanish. But the label was not strictly a hip hop label, as they signed London-based rare-groove group

The Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New H ...

, which, with lead vocalist N'Dea Davenport, recorded the 1991 hit single "Never Stop." In 1991, Delicious Vinyl reissued the self-titled ''

Masters of Reality Masters of Reality is an American rock band formed in 1981 by frontman Chris Goss and guitarist Tim Harrington in Syracuse, New York, United States. They took the name for the band from a misprinted label of the third Black Sabbath album. Goss ...

'' (originally released on Def American in 1988). The label also had a short-lived heavy metal subsidiary called Malicious Vinyl. In 1992, Delicious Vinyl entered a joint venture with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. In 1995, Ross filed a petition in

L.A. Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The L ...

seeking the appointment of a provisional director for the label. In his petition, Ross alleged that Dike "began to abdicate responsibility and management" of the label in 1992. Ross retained ownership of Delicious Vinyl, making it one of the longest-running independent labels in hip-hop history. Delicious Vinyl signed

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...

, whose debut album ''

Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde ''Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde'' is the debut album by American hip hop collective The Pharcyde, released on November 24, 1992, through the Delicious Vinyl and EastWest labels. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and feat ...

'' (1992) featured the hit single "Passing Me By." Produced by

J-Swift J-Swift is a Spanish music producer responsible for songs with groups on the Delicious Vinyl label. He has produced the hip hop groups The Pharcyde and The Wascals. Early life J-Swift was born Juan Manuel Martinez-Luis in 1971 in Madrid, Spain. H ...

, the album sold half a million copies.

Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut " The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice ...

joined the label delivering two strong albums, 1993's ''Slaughterhouse'' and 1995's ''Sittin' on Chrome'' (under the group moniker Masta Ace Incorporated). Other significant acts on the label in the mid '90s included

Born Jamericans Born Jamericans are a reggae/ hip hop duo formed in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s. The group consisted of Norman "Notch" Howell and Horace "Edley Shine" Payne.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 34-35 ...

and The WhoRidas. A remix project, Delicious Rmxxology, was curated by DV's Rick Ross with Peaches, Breakbot, Mr. Flash, Cory Nitta, Aaron LaCrate & Samir, Hot Chip, Don Rimini, Diplo & Philippians) reworking the Delicious Vinyl catalog. The first single from the remix project was

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

' version of

's "Wild Thing". In 2018, Delicious Vinyl co-founder Matt Dike died in Los Angeles at the age of 56.

Delicious Pizza

Delicious Vinyl expanded its brand into restaurants when, in 2015, Mike partnered with father and son team Fred Sutherland and Travis Sutherland, and his brother, Rick Ross, to open Delicious Pizza on West Adams in Los Angeles. The store is part pizza shop and part hip-hop museum as the owners display several pieces of memorabilia throughout the venue. A year later, the duo opened a Delicious Pizza on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Both establishments hold several music events throughout the year, bringing food and fun to the community.

Discography

Albums

*1989 : Master Rhyme - "Go Off Shot" *1999: ''Waxing Off: The First Decade'' *2000: ''Delicious Vinyl Presents...Prime Cuts Vol. 1'' *2007: ''Jay Deelicious: The Delicious Vinyl Years'' *2008: ''RMXXOLOGY''

Singles

* Romeo & Master Rhyme : "Crackerjack" * Tone Loc: " Wild Thing" (No. 2) * Tone Loc: "

" (No. 3) * Young MC: " Bust a Move" (No. 7) * The Pharcyde: "

Passin' Me By "Passin' Me By" is a song by American hip-hop group The Pharcyde, released in March 1993 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The song was the second single released from the group's 1992 debut album ''Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde''. The song, produ ...

" * The Pharcyde: " Drop" * The Pharcyde: " She Said" * Masta Ace: "

Sittin' on Chrome ''Sittin' on Chrome'' is the second and final studio album by American hip hop group Masta Ace Incorporated and the third album by Brooklyn-based rapper Masta Ace. It was released on May 2, 1995, through Delicious Vinyl. Recording sessions took ...

" (No. 84)

Artists

Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New H ...

* Bucwheed *

Casey Veggies Casey Joseph Jones (born July 18, 1993), better known by his stage name Casey Veggies, is an American rapper and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Since 2007, he has released five independent mixtapes under LA clothing and management comp ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

Duce Duce ( , ) is an Italian language, Italian title, derived from the Latin language, Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Supreme leader, Leader') of the ...

Fatlip Derrick Lemel Stewart (born March 26, 1968), known professionally as Fatlip, is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde. Early career The Pharcyde As a member of The Pharcyde, Fatlip contri ...

* The Flys *

Frank Nitt Frank n Dank (real names Frank Bush and Derrick Harvey) are an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. They also go by the names Frank Nitt (previously known as Frank Nitty, which is a reference to the 1930s crime boss Frank Nitti) and D ...

* J Dilla Aka Jay Dee (and his younger brother,

Illa J John Derek Yancey (born October 13, 1986), better known by his stage name Illa J, is an American rapper, singer, producer and songwriter. from Detroit, Michigan who has released two albums on Delicious Vinyl Records. He is the younger brother ...

) *

Jansport J JanSport is an American brand of backpacks and collegiate apparel, now owned by VF Corporation, one of the world's largest apparel companies. JanSport is the world's largest backpack maker, and together, JanSport and The North Face, also owned by ...

Jesse Jaymes Jesse Itzler is an American entrepreneur, author, and rapper.Famil ...

* Machel Montano *

Master Rhyme Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles *Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master, ...

Mr Vegas Clifford Smith (born December 29th, 1974), better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Biography Clifford Smith was born in Kingston in 1974.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough G ...

* The Wascals *

The ZZYZZX ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(

and his son, Cazal Organism) *

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American independent record labels Island Records Atlantic Records V2 Records Record labels established in 1987 Hip hop record labels Electronic dance music record labels