Founder Matt DikeMichael Ross Country of origin U.S. Founded 1987 | Official website www.deliciousvinyl.com Distributor Concord Bicycle Music | |
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Headquarters West Hollywood, California, United States Artists The Pharcyde, J Dilla, Young MC, Brand New Heavies, Tone Lōc Albums Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, Labcabincalifornia, Yancey Boys, Lōc‑ed After Dark, Stone Cold Rhymin' Profiles | ||
Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles. The label is distributed by Concord Bicycle Music.
Contents
Delicious vinyl x mixcloud in l a
History
Michael Ross was a student at UCLA when he met Matt Dike, a DJ from New York City, during the 1980s. 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, funk, 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, a Los Angeles gang member. "Cheeba Cheeba" and "Crackerjack" got played on L.A.'s rap radio station KDAY. It caused controversy for criticising N.W.A..
Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" sold three million copies. It was helped by a video parody of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love". Tone Loc's follow-up single, "Funky Cold Medina," an ode to an aphrodisiac beverage, sampled Foreigner and Kiss, and cemented Dike's and Ross's method of inserting rock riffs into rap singles.
Young MC recorded the million-selling hit single "Bust a Move." Def Jef was the most lyrical rapper in the label's early years, and although his two albums Just a Poet with Soul (1989) and Soul Food (1991) never achieved the crossover success of Tone Loc and Young MC, they are rated highly by hip-hop critics because of Def Jef's sociopolitical rhymes and its allegiance to the funk of James Brown.
The label's third release was a single by Mellow Man Ace that is one of the earliest instances of rap recorded in Spanish. But the label was not strictly a rap label, as they signed London-based rare-groove group The Brand New Heavies, who with lead vocalist N'Dea Davenport recorded the 1991 hit single "Never Stop." In 1991, Delicious Vinyl reissued the self-titled Masters of Reality (originally released on Def American in 1988).
Matt Dike left the label in 1992. Michael 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 quartet of Bootie Brown, Imani Wilcox, Slimkid Tre, and Fatlip. Their debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992) featured the hit single "Passing Me By." Produced by J-Swift, the album sold half a million copies. Masta Ace 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 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' version of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing".