Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (born 1963) is an American record producer best known for his work in rap and heavy metal. He was a major figure in the fusion of rap and hard rock by bringing together Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith for the hit song "Walk This Way". He was also a major figure in the fusion of rap and heavy metal into Alternative metal, Nu metal and other forms. MTV has called him "the most important producer of the last 20 years." Rubin was given an Esky for Best Visionary in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue: "In four words we trust: produced by Rick Rubin. ... While he hides behind a mysterious bearded-shaman schtick, the secret to his success is obvious; He's one of the few industry giants with the confidence to just let artists be themselves."
The Def Jam years
In high school Rubin had a band called "The Pricks", and later played guitar in a New York University art-punk band called "Hose", influenced by San Francisco's Flipper. In 1982, Hose became Def Jam release #1, a 45-rpm 7" vinyl single in a brown paper bag, and no paper label. The band played in and around the NYC punk scene, toured the Midwest and California, and played with seminal bands like the Meat Puppets, Husker Du, the Circle Jerks and the Butthole Surfers but broke up by 1986 as another passion began consuming Rubin's time: the burgeoning NYC hip-hop scene.
Rubin had not only found himself immersed in punk rock but the hip-hop culture that was being embraced by New York City's Lower East Side art community. Many hip-hop artists from The Bronx and Harlem began performing downtown. During this time, rappers often used the slang expression that their "style was death." Because "death" is sometimes pronounced "def" in African American Vernacular English, Rubin did not realize that they were saying "death", but rather thought that "def" was a new slang term.
Befriending Zulu Nation's DJ Jazzy Jay, Rubin wanted to learn about hip-hop production. By 1983, the two men produced "It's Yours" for rapper T La Rock, and released it on their independent label, Def Jam Records. Producer Arthur Baker helped to release the record worldwide on Baker's Streetwise Records in 1984.
Jazzy Jay introduced Rubin to concert promoter/artist manager Russell Simmons in a club, and Rubin explained he needed help getting Def Jam off the ground. Simmons and Rubin edged out Jazzy Jay and the official Def Jam record label was founded while Rubin was still attending New York University in 1984. Their early records included LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat", which led to the top 40 hit "Rock the Bells" in 1985. Rubin went off the beaten path of hip-hop being a product of The Bronx and Harlem by recruiting rappers from Long Island, which eventually led to Def Jam's release of Public Enemy's records. "Rock Hard"/Party's Gettin' Rough"/ "Beastie Groove" EP by the Beastie Boys came out an on the heels of the success of Rubin's production work with breakthrough act Run-D.M.C.. His productions were characterised by occasionally fusing rap with heavy rock.
It was Rubin's idea to have Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith collaborate on a cover of Aerosmith's Walk This Way in 1987, a production credited with both introducing rap-hard rock to mainstream ears and revitalizing Aerosmith's career. His work on Slayer's Reign in Blood saw him in a purer rock context.
The Def American years
In 1988, Simmons and Rubin went their separate ways, partly due to a power struggle that Rubin lost with Def Jam president Lyor Cohen. Simmons stayed in New York with Def Jam, and Rubin left for Los Angeles, California, to found Def American Records. In Los Angeles, he signed a number of heavy rock acts, including Slayer, Danzig, Masters of Reality, The Cult and Wolfsbane, as well as the indie rockers The Jesus & Mary Chain and controversial stand up comedian Andrew Dice Clay. He produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers' breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He retained a close association with rap, signing the Geto Boys and continuing to work with Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-D.M.C. among others.
The American Recordings years
Rubin found that his misunderstood slang invention "def" had been accepted into the dictionary and in 1993, Rubin held an actual funeral, complete with a casket and a grave, for the word "def". Def American became American Recordings. The first major project on the renamed label was Johnny Cash's American Recordings (1994), a record including nine covers. The album did much to revive Cash's career following a fallow period. The formula was repeated for three more Cash albums: Unchained, Solitary Man, and The Man Comes Around. Cash's final album before his 2003 death, The Man Comes Around, garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (Bridge Over Troubled Water with Fiona Apple) and a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Male (Give My Love to Rose). Rubin also produced a number of records with other older artists, including Mick Jagger's 1993 "Wandering Spirit" album, Tom Petty (Wildflowers) and Donovan (Sutras). Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' sorrowful tune, "Hurt", would become the defining song of his later years.
Production trademarks
Rubin's biggest trademark as a producer has been a "stripped-down" sound, that involves eliminating typical production elements like string sections, backup vocals, reverb, and the like in favor of naked vocals and bare instrumentation. This style began with his very first production effort, LL Cool J's Radio, which consisted of little more than rapping and percussive beats (Rubin's liner notes credit for that album, instead of the expected "Produced by Rick Rubin", reads "Reduced by Rick Rubin"). Later he developed a reputation as a "song doctor" who, by performing the same reduction on the sound of veteran singers and bands, could help them break out of the commercial rut they were currently in. He did this most notably with Johnny Cash, but also achieved this effect with Tom Petty, AC/DC (on the album Ballbreaker) and Neil Diamond (on 12 Songs).
Another of Rubin's trademarks is the fusion of rap and hard rock/heavy metal, which he can lay claim to inventing in his work with Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. His most recent rap-rock work was Jay-Z's 2003 song "99 Problems" and Lil' Jon's 2004 song "Stop Fuckin' Wit Me". The latter sampled Slayer's "Mandatory Suicide" and "Raining Blood", both originally produced by Rubin.
Another trademark has been having artists cover unexpected material in their own style. In addition to the notable covers of Run-D.M.C. and Johnny Cash, Rubin produced Slayer's cover of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", executive-produced the Black Crowes' career-launching cover of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", and produced Rage Against The Machine's 2000 covers album, Renegades. Rubin is currently working on the next Metallica record, due for realease in early 2007.
Albums produced
- Radio - LL Cool J (1985)
- Licensed to Ill - Beastie Boys (1986)
- Raising Hell - Run-D.M.C. (1986)
- Reign in Blood - Slayer (1986)
- Electric - The Cult (1987)
- Danzig - Danzig (1988)
- Tougher Than Leather - Run-D.M.C. (1988)
- South of Heaven - Slayer (1988)
- Masters of Reality - Masters of Reality (1988)
- Andrew Dice Clay - Andrew Dice Clay (1989)
- Trouble - Trouble (1990)
- Danzig II: Lucifuge - Danzig (1990)
- Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer (1990)
- Nobody Said It Was Easy - The Four Horsemen (1991)
- Manic Frustration - Trouble (1991)
- Decade of Aggression - Slayer (1991)
- Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)
- Danzig III: How the Gods Kill - Danzig (1992)
- Thrall: Demonsweatlive - Danzig (1993)
- 21st Century Jesus - Messiah (1993)
- Danzig 4 - Danzig (1994)
- American Recordings - Johnny Cash (1994)
- Divine Intervention - Slayer (1994)
- Wildflowers - Tom Petty (1994)
- One Hot Minute - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1995)
- Ballbreaker - AC/DC (1995)
- God Lives Underwater - God Lives Underwater (1995)
- Empty - God Lives Underwater (1995)
- Unchained - Johnny Cash (1996)
- Undisputed Attitude - Slayer (1996)
- Sutras - Donovan (1996)
- VH1 Storytellers - Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson (1998)
- Diabolus in Musica - Slayer (1998)
- System of a Down - System of a Down (1998)
- Chef Aid - South Park (1998)
- Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)
- Loud Rocks - V/A (tracks: 1. System of a Down & Wu-Tang Clan - Shame, 6. Tom Morello & Chad Smith & Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing Ta Fuck Wit) (1999)
- American III: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash (2000)
- Paloalto - Paloalto (2000)
- Renegades - Rage Against The Machine (2000)
- Amethyst Rock Star - Saul Williams (2001)
- The War of Art-American Head Charge (2001)
- Breath of the Heart -Krishna Das (2001)
- Toxicity - System of a Down (2001)
- American IV: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash (2002)
- By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers (2002)
- Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)
- Steal This Album! - System of a Down (2002)
- Results May Vary - Limp Bizkit (with Terry Date and Jordan Schur)
- Unearthed - Johnny Cash (2003)
- Door of Faith - Krishna Das (2003)
- De-Loused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta (2003) (with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez)
- The Black Album - Jay-Z (2003) ("99 Problems")
- Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium - Rage Against the Machine (2003)
- Heroes and Villains - Paloalto (2003)
- Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) - Slipknot (2004)
- Armed Love - The (International) Noise Conspiracy (2004)
- Crunk Juice - Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz (2004) ("Stop Fuckin' Wit Me")
- Make Believe - Weezer (2005)
- Out of Exile - Audioslave (2005)
- Mezmerize - System of a Down (2005)
- Hypnotize - System of a Down (2005)
- 12 Songs - Neil Diamond (2005)
- Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)
- Taking the Long Way -- Dixie Chicks (2006)
- American V: A Hundred Highways - Johnny Cash (2006)
- Untitled - Justin Timberlake (2006)
- Untitled - Linkin Park (2006)
- Untitled - Metallica (2006/2007)
- Untitled - Kid Rock (2006/2007)
- Untitled - The Faint (2006/2007)
- American VI - Johnny Cash (possibly 2007)
External links
- Rick Rubin at IMDb
- "The 'Song Doctor' Is In". The Washington Post. January 15, 2006.
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