It’s difficult to overstate Rick Rubin’s influence on the modern era. MTV once called him “the most important producer of the last 20 years”; a 2007 poll in Time listed him among the 100 Most Influential People In The World.
Since co-founding Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons in 1984, Rubin has had a profound effect on the development of rap and metal. He’s also known as someone with a gift for isolating and magnifying the qualities that make an artist special. Perhaps the most famous example was his extended collaboration with Johnny Cash from the 90s that produced some of the greatest work of the country icon’s career.
“I don’t know what makes someone hip,” Rubin once stated. “The goal is artist achievement and the best work we can do with no limitations.”
That approach has resulted in a dizzying number of projects, as remarkable for their quality as for the diversity. With a CV getting on for 200 albums now, the nine-times Grammy winner has produced albums for Metallica, the Beastie Boys, Slayer, Tom Petty, Rage Against The Machine, AC/DC, Donovan, Neil Diamond and Adele, to name but a few.
He first gatecrashed the mainstream in 1986, when he oversaw both the Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill – an album that heralded the collision of white rap and metal – and Run DMC’s Raising Hell. The latter was notable for producing the first crossover rap hit in the US, when Aerosmith joined the New Yorkers for a remake of their ’77 hit Walk This Way.
In 1988 Rubin quit Def Jam and headed to Los Angeles, where he started up Def American Records. The emphasis this time was on metal. Among the first acts he signed were Danzig, Masters Of Reality, Wolfsbane and Slayer. When Def American became American Recordings in the early 90s, Rubin’s first task was to resurrect the career of Johnny Cash, then in his 60s. The resulting albums returned Cash to the charts for the first time in 30 years.
Since then he's been co-head of Columbia Records, left Columbia Records, revvived American Recordings, worked with Linkin Park, U2, Green Day, Metallica and Bob Dylan, become synonymous with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' best work, and made a TV special with Paul McCartney.
He still insists his job “has very little to do with music. It has more to do with taste and culture and balance.” All things considered, he's done pretty well.
...and one to avoid
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