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Hip-Hop may have started in the Bronx years ago at a house party with DJ Kool Herc and extended to Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, but its roots stretch back many years prior to another country--Jamaica. And those roots stem back to the irie vibes of Reggae. As pioneers took it further than you would have ever imagined, the culture of Reggae also spread from the Caribbean island to the four corners of the world. And one label that has helped with its rise in popularity in the United States, and beyond, is VP Records.
VP Records had a long path before it became the world leader in Reggae music that it is today. Chinese Jamaican husband and wife Vincent "Randy" Chin and Patricia Chin owned a record store called Randy's Record Mart, an imprint called Randy's Records, and Studio 17 in Kingston, Jamaica. They eventually moved the record shop to Brooklyn in 1975 to avoid the political violence at the time, renaming it to VP Records (V-Vince, P-Patricia). That was also the same year that they decided to distribute records and not just sell them for retail. Then in 1979, they made one final and fitting move to Jamaica, Queens since Randy's brother had opened Chin Randy's Records in Brooklyn. Once the record store started to pick up momentum with distribution and sales, they started their own label in 1993. With the help of an employee from Raymar's Memory Lane Distribution, Rhoda Bernstein, the Chins quickly learned the ins and outs of running a label in the states.
Randy had already had some music success in Jamaica by producing Lord Creator's "Independent Jamaica," which was released on Chris Blackwell's nascent Island Records. And Patricia was sharpening her business acumen at running a label by noticing an open lane as a record store that could sell music from all Reggae artists instead of a select personal favorites. This would influence her to look far and wide for artists to sign to VP. And while she faced sexism in the industry, she didn't let the doubters stop her from growing the brand and the music she so dearly loved. For both Randy and Patricia, they saw a void that need to be filled to help Reggae artists' careers in the states.
Within 10 years of starting the independent label, they secured deals for Wayne Wonder, Sean Paul, and Elephant Man with major and notable labels in the states like Atlantic and Bad Boys. Their compilation albums (ie: Strictly The Best) including riddim themed ones (ie: Riddim Driven) grow in popularity every year. Since their inception, VP has expanded their releases from Reggae and Dancehall to include Soca. They've also built new imprint labels (Dub Rockers and 17 North Parade), merchandising departments, a touring agency, a digital distribution section (VPAL), and an online radio station (Randy's Radio). If you thought the empire would end there, you are sadly mistaken. In 2008, they acquired Greensleeves Records and its publishing department which had a catalog of 12,000 songs, making VP the world's largest Reggae label/publisher.
Year after year of leading the field in Reggae music has earned them Billboard's "Best Independent Label" (2002, 2003), "Best Reggae Imprint Label" for three consecutive years, and a nomination for "Best Independent Reggae Label" at the Billboard Hip-Hop and R&B awards (2003). Their releases from artists like Bunji Garlin, Bounty Killer, Yellowman, Buju Banton, Foxy Brown, Shabba Ranks, and many more have all contributed to their celebrated reputation.
Since Vincent's passing in 2003, Patricia and their children, Randy and Christopher, have been running the label. They've also opened up another record shop in Miami which is run by Randy's and Christopher's sister, Angela and her husband, as well as offices in Johannesburg, Kingston, Rio de Janeiro, London, Tokyo, and Toronto.
Keep up with VP Records on its Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, website, and Twitter.