Rick Rubin

He lives in Malibu with his partner, Amanda Santos.

Frederick Jay Rubin was born on March 10, 1963, in Long Beach, New York, to Michael and Linda Rubin. His father was a shoe wholesaler, and his mother was a housewife. Theirs was a Jewish family. He had no siblings.

Rubin spent his early years at Lido Beach, New York. He attended the ‘Long Beach High School’ in New York. He learnt the basics of songwriting and playing the guitar from Steve Freeman, the director of the school’s audio-visual department. Rubin formed a garage band with his school friends, which led to the formation of a punk band, ‘The Pricks.’ The band played at the famous New York music spot ‘CBGB,’ but they were thrown out after getting into a fight with the audience.

Thereafter, Rubin formed a group, ‘Hose,’ and toured the country, especially through the Midwest and California. With the help of the school’s four-track recorder, he formed his own recording company.

Music is his prime passion. Since the beginning of his career, he has been both a record company owner and a producer. In 1982, he founded his record company, ‘Def Jam Records,’ in his ‘New York University’ dormitory. He released the first single of his group, ‘Hose,’ through this label. The band also played with other bands such as ‘Circle Jerks,’ ‘Minor Threat,’ and ‘Butthole Surfers.’

In 1984, ‘Hose’ disbanded, as Rubin developed an interest in hip-hop music. Collaborating with DJ Jazzy Jay of the hip-hop awareness group ‘Universal Zulu Nation’ helped Rubin observe the details of hip-hop production closely. Together, they produced ‘It’s Yours’ (1983) for rapper T La Rock.

Through Jazzy Jay, Rubin met concert promoter and manager Russell Simmons. Together, Rubin and Simmons officially launched the label ‘Def Jam Records’ in 1984. Rubin was still studying at the ‘New York University’ at that time.

His label’s first release was ‘I Need a Beat’ by LL Cool J. in 1984. Rubin scouted areas such as Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens, and Long Island in search of rap and hip-hop artistes. ‘Def Jam Records’ soon signed with ‘Public Enemy’ and the ‘Beastie Boys.’ This resulted in a successful EP by the ‘Beastie Boys’ in 1985.

On a friend’s (Sue Cummings, editor at ‘Spin’ magazine) suggestion, Rubin brought together ‘Run-DMC’ and ‘Aerosmith’ to collaborate on ‘Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’ (1986). This was the first time rap–rock became part of mainstream music, and this helped resurrect ‘Aerosmith’s career.

Rubin produced some of the greatest hip-hop albums and projects of all time, such as ‘Radio’ by LL Cool J, ‘Licensed to Ill’ by the ‘Beastie Boys,’ and ‘Tougher Than Leather’ and ‘Raising Hell’ by ‘Run-DMC.’ He was the first producer who fused rap with rock. His initial work brought innovative changes to hip-hop music. Later in his career, he concentrated more on rock.