There is something extremely interesting about Rick Rubin. Born Frederick Jay Rubin on March 10, 1963 in Long Beach, New York in the United States of America, this music producer is linked to some of the greatest musical successes of the last almost four decades, in the most diverse styles.
Rick has worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down, Slipknot, Johnny Cash, Run DMC, Slayer, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Jay-Z, Shakira, Link Park , Metallica, ZZ Top, Kanye West among other names, navigating between rock, hip-hop, heavy metal and country. The breadth with which he can work in any musical style and succeed is simply fascinating.
"It wasn't shiny, it wasn't polished, it was raw and more poetic and personal."
Rick was encouraged by his parents to practice law, which made him study in New York and get to know hip-hop in the city's clubs in which the DJ was practically the center of the music, something that was not reflected in the records. that were released. Rick saw an opportunity and together with Russell Simmons launched Def Jam Recordings, the label that has released some of the biggest Hip Hop, R&B and Rap hits in history to date.
In 1988 Rick left Def Jam and went to Los Angeles where he founded Def American Recordings, a publishing company that changed its name to American Recordings in 1993. Rick never cared much about numbers, but about transmitting to artists calm and concentration on making great construction. In 1993 Rick approached a struggling Johnny Cash and they worked together for a decade giving new life to his career. Rick worked with Slayer, producing the album Reign in blood which was so heavy that Columbia did not want to distribute it, an album that would later gain success and recognition.
"I think I better start a capella," Rick told Jay-z during the recording of Jay-z's song 99 Problems. He also helped a slightly lost Kanye West produce Yeezus in which he performed, in Rick's words, a set of instrumentals 6 weeks before the album's release.
All this to tell you that you should listen to Rick Rubin's Podcast - Broken Record. Grab your best phones, escape to a comfortable place, turn off the vision and focus on the conversation, it's worth it.
I leave a conversation between Serj Tankian, Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond in order of the 20th anniversary of the release of System of a Down's Toxicity album.
Image credits: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spotify