Enjoy Records Founder Bobby Robinson Dies at 93

Bobby Robinson, a boutique label entrepreneur, record store owner, hip-hop pioneer and legitimate Harlem legend, has passed away at the age of 93. He had been ill for several years but lived a long, fruitful life that will clearly be remembered fondly by those who were graced by his presence throughout the decades.

Robinson got his start in business with his mainstay shop called Bobby's Happy House that was located on the historic 125th Street stretch of Harlem. Now regarded as perhaps the most well known African-American thoroughfare in the United States, Robinson was actually the first proprietor of a black-owned business on the street when his store opened in 1946.

Over the decades, Robinson started many boutique record labels and sold his products from his store. He routinely recorded artists that have since become true icons in music history such as Gladys Knight and The Pips and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. His label Enjoy Records was particularly important during the onset of hip-hop as Robinson recorded, pressed and distributed early singles by Flash, Spoonie Gee, Treacherous Three, Doug E. Fresh and many more.

Check out a couple of our favorite Enjoy Records tunes in Robinson's honor: