ENTITY · PERSON (ARTIST, SELECTOR, PRODUCER…)

Vincent "Randy" Chin

Probable

Vincent "Randy" Chin (1937-2003) was a Chinese-Jamaican entrepreneur who founded Randy's Records and, above his North Parade shop, the influential Randy's Studio 17, a hub of early-1970s reggae where artists such as Bob Marley, Augustus Pablo, Gregory Isaacs and Burning Spear recorded. With his wife Patricia he later relocated to New York, opening VP Records (named for Vincent and Patricia) in Queens in 1979, which grew into the world's largest independent distributor of Caribbean music.

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At a glance

Type: Person (artist, selector, producer…) →
Era: Ska and independence-era culture →
Confidence: Probable
Sources: Wikipedia; Jamaica Gleaner.

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Connections

Media & sources

Footage

Clive Chin on Randy's Records, Dub Music and Soundsystems | Red Bull Music Academy

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · documents

Clive Chin on Randy's Records and Studio 17, the shop and studio his father Vincent built.

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Recordings

Alton Ellis - Gone (Unreleased) A Vincent 'Randy' Chin Production - Federal Recording Studio, 1965

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · recording

Gone, an unreleased Alton Ellis side Vincent Chin produced at Federal Recording Studio in 1965.

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In stories

Story · ProbableThe record men: Chinese-Jamaican producers

From ska instrumentals to modern dancehall, a cluster of Chinese-Jamaican entrepreneurs ran the shops, studios and labels at the centre of the music.

Story · Well supportedRecord shops as reggae infrastructure

How Kingston's record shops, and their heirs in London and New York, worked as A&R desk, bank, distributor and meeting point for Jamaican music.