Simmons and Rubin were forced to break apart Def Jam when Rubin wanted to release the death-metal group Slayer's Reign In Blood. Def Jam's distributor, Columbia, refused, and the two split the company into separate entities: Rick Rubin on the West Coast with Def American (later becoming American Recordings), and Simmons on the East Coast with Def Jam.

With his new label, Rubin branched out to a wider audience and signed artists like Danzig and roots rock band the Black Crowes. He was also free to start producing more "classic" rock artists like Tom Petty, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Mick Jagger. This more than established his credentials as a heavy-hitter.

Production is an art form, and when working with an artist, a producer has the opportunity to take that artist and mold them into an ideal of what they think that artist should be. Sometimes that results in a "thumbprint" or a "signature sound" that makes that producer's work extremely recognizable (Phil Spector, Mutt Lange). This might be a great thing for the producer, but not necessarily great for the artist. This is truly what makes Rubin exemplary: not only does he have a great ear for music, excellent taste, and a fuzzy beard, but he also does not produce from preconceived notions.

Rick's open attitude toward production is evident in how he describes the process:

"A lot of artists really like having someone to bounce things off of, because it's hard to know. Most of them, especially the ones that are established and have had success, tend to be in a little bit of a vacuum, because most people tell them what they do is great. But there's a lack of reality in that world and it's not beneficial to the artist to be in that world...I love music and I love bands and my goal, always, working with them is to help them be their best, whatever that is."

Artist who've worked with him agree with his style, Dixie Chicks' Robison also had this to say about his approach to recording music:

"I think he knows when it's right and he's very decisive, which is refreshing, but he's also a very good listener. You just respect his ears and his taste so much. That's an earned trust. We knew the legend but we didn't know the actual reason ... We came to learn that it's just that he has great ears."

And Rubin's dedication to the artist has paid off. Besides producing platinum album after platinum album across the musical spectrum and earning numerous Grammy nominations for some of the most heralded albums of the year, he just finished a project with Linkin Park and is now producing metal giants Metallica.

What's next for this music legend? Besides maybe starring in a version of Extreme Makeover, he states his dream job would be to produce a whole album with U2, having produced two new songs on their greatest hits album - thus proving even legends have heroes.