Patricia Chin

Patricia Chin also known as Miss Pat (born September 20, 1937) is the co-founder of the world's largest reggae music label—VP Records. Born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Chinese Jamaican mother and Indo-Jamaican father, she has played the roles of entrepreneur, manager, record producer, and CEO.[1]

Patricia Chin

VP Records has increased the spread of Caribbean music and culture through the management of top Reggae, Dancehall and Soca artists such as Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder, Shaggy, Mavado, Dennis Brown, Beenie Man, Beres Hammond, Spice, Tarrus Riley, Gyptian, Fay-Ann Lyons and Bunji Garlin.[2] Despite having to navigate the male-dominated music and reggae industries, Chin has emerged as a global leader in music management and production, leading the label which she co-founded with her husband to become a trailblazer in what is now a global product.

Early life and career

From an early age, Patricia exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit. She started selling rubber bands and marbles to her classmates while in elementary school. At the age of 20 she married Vincent Chin. Vincent at the time was repairing and restocking juke boxes throughout the island of Jamaica. Many American juke box companies simply discarded the used records. This is when Miss Pat saw the opportunity to sell the used American records and opened a store at 17 North Parade Street, Kingston, called Randy's Record Mart.  The new store flourished as they sold records, accessories and baked goods.[1]

After five years in business they decided to grow their business by purchasing the building next door and opened a recording studio called: "Studio 17". The legendary Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded[3] part of their, “Catch a Fire” album at the recording studio; and other famous guests were Peter Tosh, Johnny Nash, Augustus Pablo, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Don Drummond, and Burning Spear, just to name a few.

Patricia was playing all roles that a female can play. In addition to her role as a wife and mother—by then the family included sons Chris and Randy, and daughter Angela, she was working side by side with her husband to manage the store and studio. With Mr. Chin increasingly on-the-road, Miss Pat was the only women in the store and studio.  She was more than a manager; she was the first women in the Jamaica music industry with economic and decision making power.

However, Jamaica in the 1970s was undergoing dramatic political and economic changes with the installation of a new socialist government. While Miss Pat remained in Kingston, in 1979 Vincent moved to the USA settling in Queens, New York and opened VP Records.[4] At that time, Miss Pat was running the Randy's Record store and Studio 17 in Kingston. She would order and ship records to the New York operation. Miss Pat commuted between Kingston and Queens, New York. But her solo tenure in Kingston boosted her managerial ability and a confidence in the business for the entire family. VP started pressing records at the New York location, licensing songs, making albums and handling royalties. In addition to their retail operation, VP opened a distribution warehouse in Jamaica, Queens as well.

In 2003, her longtime partner and husband Vincent “Randy” Chin passed away at the age of 65. By that time their children had joined the company and taken on much of the day-to-day operations. Christopher Chin serves as CEO, Randy Chin serves as CMO and Angela Chin heads their Global Distribution operation. VP Records has received Billboard's “Best Independent Record Label” and “Best Reggae Imprint Label” awards multiple times.[5]

Honors and awards

Patricia Chin has received dozens of honors and awards in her career, which cover a range of music, cultural, community and gender sectors.

On October 26, 2018, she was honored with a prestigious International Humanitarian Award at American Friends of Jamaica's (AFJ) 2018 Hummingbird Gala. [6]

The same year she was the recipient of Jamaica's 2018 International Women's Day award.[7]

In October 2017, she was the recipient of the Medgar Evers College Pinnacle Award in Manhattan, NY which supported student scholarships at the esteemed college.[8]

On June 2, 2017, the Queens Tribune held their first-ever Caribbean-American Legacy Awards honoring seven Caribbean influencers. Patricia Chin was among that group, acclaimed for expanding reggae's audience internationally with the success of VP Records.[9]

In June 2015, The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) Libera Awards, awarded Patricia with their Lifetime Achievement Award for innovation in the independent music industry. [10]

On February 28, 2015, Patricia Chin and her late husband Vincent Chin received the Jaria Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards ceremony was held during reggae month and is the premier event among a plethora of functions held to celebrate the contribution of reggae music to the world.[11]

One of her highest honors came in 2006 when she was awarded the Order of Distinction (OD) by the Government of Jamaica.[12]

External business ventures and philanthropy

Miss Pat currently runs the company's fashion forward clothing line—Riddim Driven— and has become more active with raising funds after recently forming the Vincent and Pat Foundation.  It is the mission at the Vincent and Pat Foundation to support our youth by assisting in providing musical education and instruments to music programs in Afro-Caribbean communities in the United States and the respective Afro-Caribbean countries.

References
  1. "Patricia Chin". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  2. "VP Records | Miles Ahead in Reggae Music". www.vprecords.com. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. Bloom, Laura Begley. "Insider's Guide To Jamaica From A Music Exec Who Carved Her Own Path To Success". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  4. "Women In Reggae – Patricia Chin aka Miss Pat of VP Records". Rootfire. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  5. "Consul Society honors Jamaica's VP VIP". caribbeanlife. 2014-11-26. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  6. "American Friends Of Jamaica Raises Approximately US$400K In New York". http://jamaica-gleaner.com/. Retrieved 2020-06-27. External link in |website= (help)
  7. Life, Caribbean (2018-03-21). "Consul Society honors Jamaica's VP VIP". Caribbean Life News. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  8. Life, Caribbean (2017-10-20). "CHIN UP". Caribbean Life News. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  9. "FOUNDER OF VP RECORDS, PATRICIA CHIN RECEIVES CARIBBEAN AWARD FROM QUEENS TRIBUNE | VP Records". www.vprecords.com. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  10. "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  11. "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  12. Life, Caribbean (2018-03-21). "Consul Society honors Jamaica's VP VIP". Caribbean Life News. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
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