{"id":431554,"date":"2026-08-13T07:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431554\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T07:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:46:18","slug":"long-beach-will-soon-restore-a-piece-of-its-hip-hop-history-and-they-want-your-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431554\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach will soon restore a piece of its hip-hop history, and they want your advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long Beach is taking feedback on its plans to enshrine a major symbol of the city\u2019s contribution to hip-hop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in the look and feel of the future VIP Records Park<\/a> is being asked to participate in a workshop at 6 p.m. Aug. 13 at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center at 1950 Lemon Ave.<\/p>\n

The 90-minute workshop<\/a> will include a presentation and discussion on the park\u2019s design process. There will also be an update on the refurbishment of the \u201cWorld Famous VIP Records\u201d sign, the longstanding symbol of the city\u2019s contributions to West Coast rap, which will be displayed at the park.<\/p>\n

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Conceptual designs will likely be shown in a second workshop this fall, with final designs unveiled by next spring ahead of construction meant to be finished by that fall.<\/p>\n

This comes as the latest installment in the storied saga surrounding VIP Records, a venerable record shop that vaulted the careers of artists like Snoop Dogg, Warren G and the late Nate Dogg. Despite its past success, VIP had to move from its original location in 2018. The sign remains in city storage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2028 Olympics, the city has chosen the VIP sign to be among its cadre of capital projects meant to showcase the best examples of its local culture and pride, approving money for the sign\u2019s refurbishment in January and setting out a plan to honor the store\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

The new park, a grassy, quarter-acre lot at the southwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, sits across the street from the famous record store\u2019s former location, now a 7-Eleven. A weathered fence wraps around it, with small hills running through its center.<\/p>\n

The vacant city-owned lot that Long Beach plans to turn into a park that includes the VIP Records sign at the southwest corner of Anaheim Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Photo by John Donegan. <\/p>\n

Ideas for the new park are up to the public but also proposals by contractors. On the project\u2019s bidding page<\/a>, city officials have budgeted $235,000<\/a> for the sign\u2019s restoration, installation and site improvements. They must also replace fencing as needed and remove the \u201cLong Beach Poly Tech\u201d sign that\u2019s already at the park.<\/p>\n

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As a designated historic landmark, officials say the sign will undergo restoration that meets federal standards<\/a>, which may include \u201crepainting, electrical repair, repair of acrylic, replacement of globes, repairs for rust and other damage, and other similar work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another $500,000 is set aside for the redesign of the park and its plaza. Its redesign, once complete, will act as an extension of the store\u2019s legacy and be used as a communal space for parties, gatherings and other events.<\/p>\n

VIP founder Kelvin Anderson has spent years raising awareness about the importance of his shop, making several pitches to donors and officials to help create a state-of-the-art museum with room for a recording studio, printing space, restaurant and live music.<\/p>\n

Before its time in storage, the sign accompanied the VIP Records store in Long Beach \u2014 the flagship of 14 locations across Los Angeles County. Snoop Dogg, Warren G and the late Nate Dogg recorded their first four-song demo at VIP. After he signed his first label deal, Snoop Dogg recorded part of his \u201cWho Am I? (What\u2019s My Name)\u201d video on the store\u2019s roof.<\/p>\n

Today, a majority of VIP\u2019s customers \u2014 nearly two-thirds, according to Anderson \u2014 are tourists traveling to Long Beach. It\u2019s now at 1028 E PCH, a smaller storefront just a few doors down from the original spot.<\/p>\n

As part of the approval for the sign\u2019s repairs, the City Council in January OK\u2019d a $170,000 licensing agreement<\/a> with VIP Records to display the sign on city property for five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach is taking feedback on its plans to enshrine a major symbol of the city\u2019s contribution to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[107705,71615,18659,131,133,132,1833,55584,127411,71533],"class_list":["post-431554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-bech","tag-input","tag-long","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-park","tag-records","tag-vip","tag-workshop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}