In the early 1990s, Kelvin Anderson Sr. built a fortune recording studio at the back of his long Beach record store, a paradise filled with vinyl called The World Famous VIP records At the corner of the Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. He wanted to give young people a creative outlet in the gang district.
The word quickly spread in the city, and budding artists began to sprinkle. People like Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg – who were part of a trio nicknamed 213, the Code of the Long Beach region at the time – cut its first demo.
The late Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage name The Notorious Big, is represented with his colleague artist Craig Mack and the owner of VIP Records Kelvin Anderson in front of the store.
(Gracious VIP files)
“Believe me, there were many children in there,” said Anderson, who is now 70 years old and known as “pop” in the community. “Some learned to sing, to dance, to be a producer and, in the case of Ricky Harris, to be an actor. There were a lot. Jamie Foxx used to go out there. DJ Quik learned to produce music there. It was a place to explore the possibility of being an artist.”
It is among the decades of stories that arise from the family record store which was the Mecca of G-Funk music and has helped stimulate the career of some of the largest rap stars. Today, Anderson, who has been working in the music industry for over 50 years, hopes to preserve the history of VIP discs by converting it into a museum and educational center.
“This brand is so loved and recognized worldwide, so we need this museum,” Anderson said at a disclosure event on Tuesday, co-organized by the non-profit organization Creative class collective. “History must be told and the importance of black music in general, and the role he played.”
Ashanti Dykes plays guitar at VIP Records.
(William Liang / For Times)
Anderson adds: “Regarding rap and hip-hop, VIP Records was the first to sell rap music on the west coast, end.”
Anderson's older brother, Cletusopened the first VIP records in 1967, and his brothers and sisters helped open 13 additional locations in the County of Los Angeles. Anderson, who is one of the 10 children, followed the tradition of his family to go from their hometown of the Mississippi to after having obtained his secondary school diploma, to help manage stores. In 1978, Cletus opened world renowned VIP records in Long Beach, and Anderson took it more months later. (Cletus Died in 2024 at 82.)
In 2017, the city of Long Beach made an emblematic sign of VIP Records a Historic monument. The mayor Rex Richardson says that the city has also set up an “important sum of money” to renovate the panel and that he hopes to place it on a public property near the store so that visitors can visit and live it. He says he wants to transform “a real monetary opportunity” to support Anderson's vision for the museum. He and the Anderson family are in the process of concluding an agreement.
Anderson family members. There were once 14 VIP Records locations in the county of the, but today, only the long Beach store remains.
(William Liang / For Times)
“A museum, in order to do it properly, he will need sustainable resources, so let's take this rich cultural capital that we have and start to expose it,” explains Richardson, adding that the catering project is part of a wider plan known as the name of Raise 28 To embellish and highlight historic long Beach monuments in time for the 2028 summer Olympic Games, which Los Angeles is organizing. He also wants to open a “legendary march” to present the famous natives of Long Beach.
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Due to the constantly evolving music industry that has moved to streaming, the Anderson family closed everything except its long Beach store, which is a few steps from its original location. The historic artifacts fill the walls of the record store, including plates and awards from various record companies and photos of artists who visited the shop like Rick James, the Jacksons and Donna Summer. Near the front of the store is a replica of the historic panel of the store that Snoop Dogg presented in its clip for “Who Am I (what is my name)?” From his first album in 1993, “Doggystyle”. Next to a counter, there is a supervised image taken by the longtime photographer, Duke Givensof his childhood friend, snoop, exposed.
“The reason why (VIP Records) has power is due to love,” explains Givens, from Long Beach who grew up by frequenting the store and described it as a third space for the inhabitants. “It is an institution. It's more than just a place. You know how we have the church, we have school, we have sport … We have VIP. ”
The photographer Duke Givens poses for a portrait with an image he took in 1994.
(William Liang / For Times)
The idea of opening a museum came to Anderson several years ago when a father entered the store with his two sons. While they were lenging in vinyl records, one of the pretens said: “Dad, what is it?” Anderson remembers.
“There were a lot of people in the store that day, and everyone seemed to be attentive,” said Anderson. “It was funny. I said,” Dude, we have to tell the story. We have to tell the story of the record industry. “”
During Tuesday's event, Snoop Dogg called and shared his support for the museum, marking a full circle.
“I just want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to present our talent when rap was not so popular and it was not so easy to do,” he told Anderson. “You are all up there to the VIP gave us hope. You gave us the opportunity to realize our dream of becoming reality and to give us a platform to hear our voice for the first time on a cassette, to hear what we looked like, to see what we meant for people.”
Travis A. Scott, from Long Beach and rapper who goes through Hobo (acronym for Heart of A Brave One), went to VIP Records for the first time several years ago after having heard that Anderson allowed artists to record music in the studio. He recorded his first album, “City by Tha Sea”, and was signed in Last VIP Entertainment, VIP Records' Label.
“VIP Records is a safe refuge,” he says. “It protected me. This protected my mind to venture fully into the violence of gangs and in the drug trade and all the other things that were negative in my community. This is where I could come to withdraw my negative frustration in a creative and productive way. This allowed me to free myself from the burden of other calamities, to be able to be myself rather than the community and the environment wanted it to be.
The record store, which remains a place to find modern and classic albums, often organizes events for the community.
(William Liang / For Times)
Anderson says that he is considering great-grandparents bringing their great grandchildren in space to find out more about the evolution of the music industry and, above all, the impact of VIP Records on this subject.
“We need this support,” said Anderson, adding that people can make donations via their foundation website. “We need everyone to get behind this movement. It would be something that people would appreciate throughout their lives. ”
As Tenisha Anderson, director of the exploitation for VIP Records, crossed the photos of her father, Kelvin, at her start at the store, she said that it was “evidence” for VIP Records to have a museum.
“There are so many things that really die, and I do not want to be political, but they even remove books,” explains Tenisha, who is also the founder of the VIP Family Foundation and manages several young adult programs, notably Beauty, Brains and Beats, a workshop that highlights the music industry of female perspective. “The fact is that you cannot remove the music. Music will always tell the story. Music will always build you emotionally. Music will always be stimulating because it comes from the soul.”
