Chris Manak—better known as Stones Throw Records founder/DJ and producer Peanut Butter Wolf—was working at McDonald’s when he penned an essay declaring he would one day own a label. Only 16 at the time, Manak was steadfast in his convictions, writing: “I’d rather do something that I want and not be successful than be successful at something I don’t want.” 

He smirks when he talks about it now. “It was my first job, and I actually got in an argument with my dad because he wanted me to go to college,” Manak tells SPIN. “I was rebellious and was like, ‘I don’t want to go to college!’ We got in an argument. I said, ‘I don’t care if I work at McDonald’s the rest of my life, as long as I can do this music.’ It was really Napoleon Dynamite-ish.” 

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Decades later, Manak not only made that dream a reality but has also sustained it for three decades—without working at McDonald’s and still getting a marketing degree. The Stones Throw catalog, which includes J Dilla, Egyptian Lover, Madvillain, NxWorries, and Mayer Hawthorne, represents Manak’s musical aptitude. The fact he’s been in the same Highland Park building since 2005 shows commitment. He’s figured out a formula that works for him and continues to work for the imprint’s roster. 

Over October 18-20, Stones Throw Records held its 30th anniversary party at the Lodge Room, located just three doors down from the label’s headquarters. It was a chance for Stones Throw artists like DāM-Funk, Egyptian Lover, Sudan Archives, and Karriem Riggins to light up the stage in honor of the blood, sweat, and tears Manak has poured into the label. The fact he’s been able to make a living off of it is a bonus. 

“When I started Stones Throw, I was renting a room in a house that had mold all over it,” he remembers. “I was paying $300 a month for rent and didn’t care. I found a distributor who believed in me and was just putting out 12 inches. I didn’t start the label with any money. I found all my confidence in the music and the people I was working with. I didn’t care about how much money I was making.” 

Tragedy struck in December 1993, when Manak’s best friend and creative partner Charizma was fatally shot during an attempted mugging in East Palo Alto, California. It nearly derailed Manak. 

“I was in a group with Charizma and we were signed to a major label [Hollywood Basic, now Hollywood Records], but after he passed away at the age of 20, that threw me. I didn’t want to do music or anything. I was back at home living with my mom. But eventually I realized making music was helping me deal with my depression.” 

Out of that period sprouted the instrumental hip-hop album Peanut Butter Breaks (1994). He found a label to put it out, which led to compilations with other emcees and the confidence he needed to soldier on. My Vinyl Weighs a Ton, Big Shots (featuring posthumous verses from Charizma) and Chrome Children would follow, but the label became more of his singular focus as the years went by. Key releases like 2003’s Champion Sound by Jaylib (J Dilla and Madlib), 2004’s Madvillainy by MF DOOMand Madlib, 2006’s Donuts by J Dilla, and 2016’s Yes, Lawd! by NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge) made Stones Throw one of independent hip-hop’s most influential labels. Sadly, some of those artists are no longer alive. After Charizma, he lost J Dilla in 2006 and then MF DOOM in 2020. It never gets easier. 

“I’m thinking about Dilla’s funeral and we were all heartbroken,” he says. “I witnessed his mom in the hospital with him every day sleeping on the cot. What helped me get through it is just trying to be there for her. She kind of held it together for everybody. 

“When Charizma died, his mom called me and I couldn’t believe that phone call. She had me call his girlfriend and she thought I was playing a joke on her. Those are moments that will always be burned into my memory.” 

With DOOM, Manak found out with the rest of the world—two months after his actual death. It was announced on December 31, 2020, but he’d actually passed away on October 31. As he’d been forced to do before, Manak pressed forward and continues to honor their legacies to this day. 

The artists who are on Stones Throw recognize Manak’s loyalty and passion for music, which contributes to the label’s ongoing success. 

“Wolf and I are very good friends, we go to lunch all the time,” Egyptian Lover says. “The Stones Throw crew are like family. I love them. Each person has their job and all of them do it well. Plus, Wolf just loves music. He loves putting out artists and giving them a chance in the industry.”

In 1999, when Manak was nearing 30, he was asked in an interview what artist he thought was the “most slept on” and he replied, “Me.” 

Not much has changed since then. 

“That was probably right after My Vinyl Weighs a Ton came out,” he says. “But who’s the most slept on now? I feel like a lot of the Stones Throw artists are slept on that should be more popular.” 

While that may be true, Stones Throw artists like Egyptian Lover, who started his career in the 1980s, are still producing high quality art at a rapid pace. His most recent album, the aptly titled 1987, was released just last year. 

“Egyptian Lover’s new stuff is the same style as his old stuff,” Manak says. “He never went and did a total rebrand or anything. It’s awesome because by doing the same thing and sticking to his guns for 40 years, he’s found a whole new fanbase that doesn’t even know the old stuff.” 

With Manak’s fine-tuned ear, Stones Throw is thriving and will likely be around for another 30 years—not bad for a kid who used to work at McDonald’s.

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