Although Delicious Vinyl released news of co-founder Matt Dike’s death publicly on Tuesday (March 13), Dike is confirmed to have passed away in January. According to The Los Angeles Times, he died from complications related to salivary gland cancer.
Dike’s brother, Lane, confirmed he succumbed to the illness mid-January at the age of 56, although Delicious Vinyl’s obituary suggested he was 55.
In addition to co-founding the iconic Hip Hop imprint, Dike was a key player in the Beastie Boys’ 1989 classic,Paul’s Boutique. He also reportedly co-produced Romeo and Master Rhyme’s “Crackerjack,” the first N.W.A diss track, and backed up Ice-T as a club DJ at the beginning of Ice’s career.
Dike left sole ownership of the Los Angeles-based label to his partner Mike Ross in 1992 but not before he created his own undeniable legacy.
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Read more about Dike’s contributions below.
(The original version of this article was published on March 13, 2018 and can be found below.)
Matt Dike, producer and co-founder of the iconic Los Angeles Hip Hop label Delicious Vinyl, passed away on Tuesday (March 13). According to a press release on the label’s website, Dike died at his home after a brief illness. He was 55.
Dike established Delicious Vinyl in 1987 with fellow co-founder Mike Ross. He produced timeless hits for everyone from the Beastie Boys to Tone-Loc. The latter’s single, “Wild Thing,” went on to sell over two million copies. Tone-Loc’s platinum follow-up “Funky Cold Medina” and Young MC’s hit “Bust A Move” solidified the imprint’s legacy.
Most notably, Dike lent his sampling skills to Beastie Boys’ sophomore album, Paul’s Boutique, which was produced in his apartment with production assistance from The Dust Brothers. The album is lauded for being almost completely sample-based with the exception of Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D’s voices. Although it was initially considered a flop by Capitol Records’ standards, it has since gone double platinum and is considered one of the best Hip Hop albums of all time.
Although Dike left Delicious Vinyl in 1992, giving sole ownership to Ross, he left an indelible mark on Hip Hop forever. The logo itself has become iconic and the music Dike left behind marks a permanent chapter in the Hip Hop history books.
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Dike is survived by his brother, sister and nephew.
Tributes have started to come in on social media, including one from Questlove who regretted never being able to meet him.[apple_news_ad type=”any”]
“imo his crowning achievement was as one of the producers for one of THE greatest timeless hip hop albums ever #PaulsBoutique,” The Roots drummer wrote on Instagram. “It simply gets better with time (will be 30 years old in 2 years) it took 10 years to go double platinum and was considered a flop at the time of its release. But EVERY creative agrees that this album was not only @beastieboysofficial finest hour —but one of hip hop’s finest hours as well.”
