Rick Rubin is an American record producer and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and Def American Records.
Rick Rubin is an American record producer and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and Def American Records. ◦ ◦ He is the former co-president of Columbia Records and one of the hosts of the podcast Broken Record. ◦ He is the author of the book The Creative Act: A Way of Being. ◦ He is eccentric. ◦ One observer notes they have never seen a photo of him without flowing hair or a mythic beard. ◦
Rubin believes that our creativity does not come from our ideas, and that everything we do has all of ourselves in it, whether deeply or at surface level. ◦ He finds a metaphor for all of life in pro wrestling. ◦ He leaves the doors of his studio wide open so that there is a soundtrack of ocean waves. ◦
Def American Records, which he co-founded, eventually dropped “def” altogether once the slang felt too mainstream. ◦ Rubin held a mock funeral for the word, complete with a eulogy from Reverend Al Sharpton. ◦ He has been described as taking artists to new places in themselves that they had not known how to reach. ◦
Rubin listens with his entire body, at times sitting with his eyes closed while producing. ◦ He views pro wrestling as a metaphor for all of life. ◦ He holds that everything we do contains all of ourselves, and that creativity does not originate from ideas. ◦
He has been a singular, transformative creative muse for artists across genres and generations, including the Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Public Enemy, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, and Jay-Z. ◦ Under his labels, he produced music for System of a Down, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Slayer, Metallica, The Dixie Chicks, ACDC, Linkin Park, Neil Young, The Strokes, and many of the most successful contemporary artists of all time. ◦ He barely plays instruments and admits he does not know how to operate a soundboard, proclaiming without irony that he has no technical skill at all. ◦
He speaks with a lovely, soothing voice. ◦ When he speaks, he is slow, methodical, and thoughtful. ◦ In his book, he often writes in sententiae or aphorisms. ◦
He proclaims without irony that he has no technical skill at all, despite having produced some of the most successful contemporary artists of all time. ◦ He co-founded Def Jam Records and later Def American Records, and the latter label eventually dropped “def” altogether once the slang felt too mainstream, after which he held a mock funeral for the word. ◦ He is eccentric. ◦
He has been observed sitting with his eyes closed, listening with his entire body while working with artists. ◦ He leaves the doors of his studio wide open as they speak, creating a soundtrack of ocean waves. ◦
> "Our creativity doesn't come from our ideas … Everything we do has all of ourselves in it. It can have all of ourselves deeply in it, or it could just be surface level. But either way" ◦