![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/06194812\/img-8775-1-942272-zwx7peqa-899619-xPgk0uzs-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>The vacant city-owned lot that Long Beach plans to turn into the a park that includes the VIP Records sign at the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Photo by John Donegan.<\/p>\nAnother vote must go before a city committee to designate the city-owned, vacant lot as \u201cThe VIP Records Park.\u201d A budget detailing the project\u2019s scope will then go out to bid for a potential contractor before coming back to the City Council for a final vote.<\/p>\n
Long Beach will also pay VIP Records $170,000 in licensing fees to display its sign on city property for the next 5 years. Regular maintenance will be paid for by the city, while profits from agreements to sublicense the name and logo will be split 50-50 between both parties.<\/p>\n
Kelvin Anderson, the longtime owner of VIP Records, noted the timing at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, saying it comes days before the store\u2019s 47th birthday on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n
He and others shared personal stories about growing up driving past the sign and attending the store regularly. Many characterized it as their earliest introduction to hip-hop, and one of their proudest examples of Long Beach\u2019s enduring effect on global culture.<\/p>\n
Even as the sign sits in storage, tourists have come from across the world to visit VIP Records at its new location, just around the corner from its original store.<\/p>\n The shop was always a community gathering place that nurtured young creatives, helping launch artists like Snoop Dogg, Warren G and the late Nate Dogg. Its notoriety only grew in the \u201880s and \u201890s, when the sign was prominently featured in Snoop\u2019s \u201cWho Am I? (What\u2019s My Name)\u201d video<\/a> on the store\u2019s roof.<\/p>\n<\/a>Kelvin Anderson of VIP Records talks about his plan to turn the store into a museum of hip-hop. Photo by John Donegan.<\/p>\n