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 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," 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, though his two albums Just a Poet with Soul and Soul Food never achieved the crossover success of Tone Loc and Young MC. The label's third release was a single by Mellow Man Ace 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, which, with lead vocalistN'Dea Davenport, recorded the 1991 hit single "Never Stop." In 1991, Delicious Vinyl reissued the self-titled Masters of Reality. The label also had a short-lived heavy metal subsidiary called Malicious Vinyl. 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, whose debut albumBizarre Ride II the Pharcyde 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. 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". In 2018, Delicious Vinyl co-founder Matt Dike died in Los Angeles at age 55 after a brief illness.
Delicious Pizza
Delicious Vinyl expanded its brand into restaurants when, in 2015, Mike partnered with Fred 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.
