Special tip of the hat to Robert Burke of Rhapsody Radish for this idea. This article is designed to dovetail with his Blogcritics.org Rick Rubin playlist of November 23, 2005.
Quick: what do the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Jay-Z, Tom Petty, System of A Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, Weezer, Slayer, Johnny Cash, Public Enemy, Kula Shaker, and Danzig have in common?
Not a whole heckuva lot it would seem on the surface; one would assume that a mix tape of such artists would make for a singularly bumpy listening experience.
Yet there is a common thread among those artists that manifests itself in sonic ways that actually does render such a mix less bumpy than you'd expect: they were all produced by Rick Rubin, whose contributions to rock have been every bit as important as his contributions to rap and hip-hop. At it for over twenty years now, the 42-year-old Rubin has already amassed a resume that can stand among the most elite producers in rock; as a label owner, he helped launch some of music's most vital careers, as well as revitalizing some key veteran musicians whose careers had sagged. He can also pretty much take credit for inventing the rap/metal genre, one of the most unlikely music hybrids in history, and a successful and influential one in the 1990's.
Frederick Jay Rubin was born on Long Island NY in 1963 and launched the Def Jam label in 1984. He was attending college at the time; he and partner Russell Simmons ran the fledgling label from their dorm room at NYU. In 1984, rap was only just beginning to emerge on the national scene; five years had passed since Sugar Hill Gang and Kurtis Blow had come up with the very first rap records of all. MTV was only just beginning to play Run-DMC; most rap was still confined to clubs and tapes. While it had been growing rapidly since its 1979 appearance, it had yet to reach suburbia in any real numbers.
Def Jam's first release was a single by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay called "It's Yours", which was distributed by Partytime/Streetwise. Within a year, Def Jam had a distribution deal with Columbia records, a major label, and Rubin, at 22, was in position to leave his mark on the world.
Article comments
1 - Corpsegrinder
Rick Rubin did not produce Slayer's Hell Awaits, Brian Slagel was the producer. Rick Rubin produced Slayer's next album "Reign in blood".
2 - Robert
Brian Slagel and Rick Rubin share a production credit on "Hell Awaits" You can see the album credits here
3 - uao
Thanks for fielding that one, Robert. I always dread waking in the morning to find what I've gotten wrong. Hell Awaits I can remember from the day; I think it was via that album, and not the Beasties/Run-DMC that I first heard of Rubin's name.
4 - Corpsegrinder
Sorry if I made a mistake but I was just going by Slayer's official website
here that doesn't credit Rick Rubin as a producer of "Hell Awaits" and only credits Brian Slagel and Slayer. Although, it does seem odd that Rubin wasn't credited even on his label's site.
5 - uao
Hmmm. Well, corpsegrinder, you may be right. Maybe Reign in Blood was the first; I've seen stuff on the internet that claims he was on Hell Awaits and some that claims Reign In Blood was the first.
I haven't held a Slayer jacket in years; I was working from mp3's for this list.
I'll replace Hell Awaits with a selection from Reign In Blood on my blog; I can't change this entry though, since it was already archived. So this footnote will have to suffice.
At any rate, it changes nothing I've said about Rubin or Slayer in the article; but Reign In Blood would be a more worthy mention anyway; it's a better album.
Thanks for catching that, corpsegrinder.
6 - Cousin Lester
Rick Rubin is rich with money. I am richer with family.
Cousin Lester
7 - Joseph
Well I think that limp bizkit is an good singer,and that he need so much famous i like your´s discs ok viva mexico !!!
8 - Ray Violette
George Drakoulis produced the Black Crowes (and the Jayhawkes), not Rubin, although Drakoulis was a Def American staff producer. There's a few other songs and albums here that you credit to Rubin that leave me scratching my head because his name isn't listed on my copies. Plus, you can't list 36 productions without mentioning his masterpiece by Masters Of Reality.