Bust a Move: Matt Dike, Delicious Vinyl, and the Hip-Hop Hits that First Conquered Pop

by Peter Relic

Overview

Coast hip hop into the American mainstream and produced the hits that dominated the 80s through early 2000s, with previously unseen material, photos, and exclusive interviews – including the only in-depth, in-person interview with reclusive creator Matt Dike.

In 1987, hip-hop was at a tipping point: coastally, commercially, and creatively. New York City ruled the culture, while its hottest record label Def Jam was king. Yet out in L.A., a new crew was ready to challenge for the crown, and their fresh spin would upend the industry as the decade reached its peak.

Two Los Angeles dance club DJs, Matt Dike and Mike Ross, started their own independent label in Matt’s cramped apartment on Santa Monica Boulevard and called it Delicious Vinyl. Hoping to press a few thousand records locally, they signed unknown rappers Tone Loc and Young MC, and after recording “Wild Thing,” “Funky Cold Medina,” and “Bust a Move,” they soon sold nearly ten million copies worldwide. For a fleeting, shining time, aligned with a stunning series of collaborators, Matt Dike was the hottest music producer in the world. Iconic artist Jean-Michael Basquiat, director John Hughes, and the Beastie Boys all entered Matt’s inner circle. Then, at the height of his success, Dike disappeared from the scene. Mysteriously, he cut himself loose from his closest friends, colleagues, and family. The life, career, and secrets of “the Howard Hughes of hip-hop” became the stuff of legend.

Now, journalist Peter Relic unpacks the truth behind an exhilarating, never-before-told story of the city, the era, and the blazing creativity that changed the landscape of both rap and pop. Filled with unforgettable characters and drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews—including the only in-person sit-down with the enigmatic Matt Dike—Bust a Move is the answer to a mystery, and a celebration of a monumental musical legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806545271
Publisher:	Citadel Press
Publication date:	06/30/2026
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304

About the Author

Peter Relic is a journalist who has worked on staff and written for the most prominent hip-hop publications of the past 25 years, including VIBE, XXL, Rap Pages, and the Beastie Boys’ highly influential zine Grand Royal. As associate editor at VIBE, he wrote the magazine’s first stories on Eminem and Serena Williams, and his XXL magazine story on the Geto Boys was anthologized in Best American Music Writing, edited by Mary Gaitskill.  His work also has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, and The Plain Dealer. He lives in Georgia, where he is senior writer, public relations, at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Bust a Move

“Bust a Move tells the extraordinary story of two young music producers who unleashed new sounds upon the world with their record label Delicious Vinyl, ensuring LA’s hip-hop scene would match, or surpass, the scene in New York City, as master storyteller Peter Relic zooms smoothly from the big social picture to the most intimate, personal details that offer a front-row seat of a scene as it simmered, boiled, and exploded. Relic’s account of visiting the reclusive Matt Dike at his home is itself worth the price of the book—a killer read.” —James Lough, author of This Ain’t No Holiday Inn: Down and Out at the Chelsea Hotel 1980–1995

“Part mystery, part oral history, Bust a Move exposes a hidden hub in the hip-hop network and the characters it connected on the cusp of the 1990s. This is the secret story of music obsessive Matt Dike and a Who’s Who of those who knew him, as well as a fresh look at how LA Loc’ed and loped onto the map of rap—Relic’s writing is as delicious as the vinyl.” —Roy Christopher, author of Dead Precedents: How Hip-Hop Defines the Future

From the Publisher