Rick Rubin
On March 10th 1963 Rick Rubin, one of the most
influential people in Hip Hop was born and raised in Long Island, NY. He is
known for being a Hip Hop ambassador and starting one of the biggest record
labels today with his partner Russell Simmons. This label is Def Jam Records.
They started the label in 1984 while Rubin was still in college and it was the
only Hip Hop label at that time. LL Cool J was the labels first artist and his
success quickly got them in position to be on top. What also makes Rubin even
more influential is the fact that he is also a successful music producer. He
has done things in every genre from artists like Jay-Z, to Red Hot Chilly
Peppers, Mick Jagger and even Johnny Cash to name a few. His work is an example
of never putting yourself in a box and being a musician rather than just a
specialized “beat maker”. Though Rubin is an obvious musician he still pushes
simplicity, this is something overlooked today because we tend to think that
more is better. Rubin’s approach is less instrumentation.
Rubin’s versatility is definitely one of his characteristics
in my opinion. The ways he can simultaneously shift between genres and even at
time mix them together to create a unique sound. A great example of this is
Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”. The rock influenced track contained distorted rock
guitars over hip-hop drums. Rubin without question paved the way for such
things being done now. Another one of Rubin’s characteristics is his sense of
business. He was the founder of Def Jam and is the co-president of Columbia
Records. What’s unique about him is how he is able to separate his involvement
within the industry from business, and this is where a lot of producers/label
executives have trouble. The final characteristic that I want to mention about
Rubin is how he bridged the gap for Hip Hop as far as race goes. He showed the
world that no matter the color of your skin you could in fact be apart of the
Hip Hop culture because music is a worldwide language, which is apart of
everyone. Being one of the biggest Hip Hop producers he opened up the door for
producers of all racist. This is great.
As an industry professional having the dream of being a
producer one day Rick Rubin leave a huge impression on me. From him I’ve learnt
to never label myself and do as much of any type of music that I can. In the
end I’ll be more versed and ready for anything thrown at me. Lastly I’ve learnt
something that we all know but can still end up getting mixed up with. This is
to know how to run your job and do your job. In order words handle your
business but still run it. Watch The Making Of 99 Problems
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