When DJ L.C. got a job at VIP Records in 1988, he was just an 18-year-old looking to make money after the military. By taking that job sorting records, L.C. would become an instrumental figure in Long Beach culture and the birth of G-funk rap, cemented at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
As rap was growing more popular, shop owner Kelvin Anderson purchased a SP 1200 drum machine — just the third ever produced at the time — for his employees to mix sounds and create beats straight out of the shop, and L.C. was hooked.
He watched his cousin DJ Slice and friend Jinx use the equipment to produce music for Ice Cube, Public Enemy and various Long Beach artists. Soon afterwards, L.C.brought some of his friends from Poly High School to do the same; friends like Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G.
The teenager from West Long Beach found his calling, and he and his friends found a place to call home. They went on to put Long Beach on the map as the birthplace of West Coast rap, and helped cement VIP Records as an essential part of hip-hop history.
On Tuesday, March 25, Anderson was surrounded by his children and people like L.C., whose lives were changed through VIP Records, to announce his plans to create a music history museum and educational center.
The shop’s nonprofit arm, The VIP Family Foundation, is joining efforts with nonprofit Creative Class Collective, which works to encourage creativity in impactful ways throughout the city.
“I’m the first to admit that I can raise funds for you, but I can’t raise funds for me. I’m just not that guy,” Anderson said. “But I do know that there’s a lot of love for VIP [Records] locally and coast to coast, all around the world and I just have to put together the right program in order to raise these funds to build this museum … I’m ready to make this hard push. We just gotta get creative.”
In a surprise FaceTime appearance from Snoop Dogg, he voiced support for the creation of the museum, adding that he hopes it can be built in its iconic location, “but like I say, if they don’t want to act right we’ll find somewhere where we can put it.”
He also thanked Anderson for the ways VIP Records changed his life, highlighting the difference the shop can make for youth in the city.
“I just want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to actually showcase our talent back when rap wasn’t so popular and it wasn’t so easy to do. You, DJ Slice, L.C., all of y’all at the VIP gave us hope, y’all gave us an opportunity to make our dream come true, gave us a platform to hear our voice for the first time on a cassette, to hear what we sounded like, to see what we meant to people,” Snoop Dogg said. “So thank you for giving us an option, for giving us an avenue and opening up the record store to us and our dreams.”
VIP Records is more than a small business success story, and even more than a landmark of Black culture and music history. For the kids who live in East Long Beach, it’s an escape from the streets and a place where their creativity can open up new doors for them.
An ‘All in One’ Center for Music, Culture and the Youth
As the owner of Long Beach’s VIP Records, Anderson has taken his job with great care. It was not only to study and memorize the radio top 40 charts, or to sell music from independent artists that couldn’t be found on the radio, but to create a safe space for the youth in East Long Beach. At least, that’s the role he took on.
Nowadays, the city’s youth affectionately refers to Anderson as “Pop” — both a father figure and mentor. At 70 years old, Anderson now has plans to keep his legacy going, with a music history museum and education center built out of VIP Records.
The City of Long Beach designated the iconic VIP Records sign as a historic landmark in 2017, and have announced plans to restore the sign. However, the shop itself is not historically designated, and therefore is not guaranteed any help from the City.
Anderson is negotiating with the City to have the sign restored and erected across the street in time for the 2028 Olympics, but his vision spans further than a photo-op.
He shared his goal to purchase the entire shopping center where VIP Records has been for 46 years. The center currently holds a laundromat, 7/11, smoke shop, MMA gym, perfume store, beauty supply store, massage parlor, beauty salon and boxing gym.
In that space, they hope to create an “all in one” facility with a recording studio, printing space and radio station where they can teach youth to record and create music, as well as the marketing side of the music industry.
Over the last 46 years, the shopping center has been sold three times, Anderson said, and he’s hopeful the two nonprofits can make strides this year to purchase it themselves. When asked if he thinks the City will contribute to making the museum possible, Anderson expressed doubts.
“That would be great, but I don’t think they have that kind of love for me. I see love for the sign, but not for the mission. My concern is I’m 70 years old now and a two-time cancer survivor. Today really energized me to see the turnout and the positive energy. I’m kind of in a rush with time … I expect this to be my legacy.”
-Kelvin Anderson, owner of VIP Records
Anderson’s vision for the museum includes a journey of music history displaying equipment used from the ‘80s up until now, and the music made with the equipment over the years. He pictures the museum with a performance area that can hold up to 50 people, so young talent has a chance to shine, continuing VIP Records’ legacy.
The space would grow upon the work that The VIP Family Foundation has been doing for years, inviting youth to use their studio and equipment to make music and podcasts.
“People will come just to see the sign, but they’ll be amazed at what they’ll see,” Anderson said. He added that he wants the museum to encapsulate the history of Black people’s contributions to music, not just hip-hop. “It’s very important that this is a full-circle museum.”
