Last week, Harlem, New York native Bobby Robinson was confirmed dead at 93 years old, according to The New York Daily News. The store-owner and independent record label founder had been reportedly ill for several years before his death on January 7. Although Robinson’s legacy includes the first black-owned business on Harlem’s famed 125th Street, Hip Hop fans know the man through one of his several imprints – Enjoy Records.
Launched in the early 1960s from Robinson’s Bobby’s Happy House, Enjoy Records released early singles from the likes of Spoonie Gee, Treacherous Three, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and more. While Robinson maintained other labels such as Fire, Fury and Front Page Records, Enjoy is known for being an early home to Hip Hop albums. Catalog hits include The Furious Five’s “Superrappin’,” The Treacherous Three’s “Feel The Heartbeat” and The Fearless Four’s “Rockin’ It,” which reached younger generations through Jay-Z’s 1997 hit “Sunshine.” Robinson was credited as the producer for the original.
Although Enjoy stopped releasing albums by the mid-1980s, several compilations have released, celebrating the label (and Bobby Robinson’s achievements).
