Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubinis an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin is the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings. With the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Run–D.M.C., Rubin helped popularize hip hop music...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusic Producer
Date of Birth10 March 1963
CityLong Beach, NY
CountryUnited States of America
He is one of the few people who can get on a stage in an arena in front of any audience anywhere in the world and and play original songs for hours (that) everyone would be familiar with and sing along to. The list of people whose music has this power could be counted on one hand, tops.
It's stripped-down Neil. I think it's different from anything you've heard from him before.
Johnny said that recording was his main reason for being alive. And I think it was the only thing that kept him going, the only thing he had to look forward to.
Unfortunately for Wal-Mart, we're still not seeing the trading up effect.
I don't even know what a traditional producer is or does. I feel like the job is like being a coach, building good work habits and building trust. You want to get to a point where you can say anything and talk about anything. There needs to be a real connection.
I never really think so much about commercial success; I usually just think about records that move me, and 'Baby Got Back' was one that moved me.
I always feel like there's something magic in recording studios. There's a reason good music continues to be made in them. It's just some mojo element.
There's just a natural human element to a great song that feels immediately satisfying. I like the song to create a mood.
Usually when I start a new project there's a fear of the unknown; maybe it's a band I've never been in the studio with before. People are so different. It's almost like you need to go through the process, discover and unlock what it is that makes that band that band. And a lot of times they don't know it.
I've always been an outsider. When I did magic, I was the only kid. When I worked with Johnny Cash, I was completely out of place in Nashville. And when I started Def Jam, I was the only white guy in the hip-hop world.
When you're vegan, you spend your time chasing protein, and you're eating food that's way too high in carbs. I could never catch up on protein.
I never made beats to make beats; I only made them when there was a record to make them for. That's one of the things that has changed in hip-hop that's made me like it less. It feels much more like it's a producer-driven medium, where there are all these tracks that are completely interchangeable.
At 15, I started listening to hard rock and heavy metal, but I would say it was more hard rock because I liked Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, and eventually AC/DC.
I really loved crunk. I loved the extreme nature of it, how repetitious it was, and how these basic, angry chants would just be repeated over and over again.