I Just Wanna Be...Rick Rubin

I first wanted to be Rick Rubin during early adolescence.  My earliest memories of Rubin are clips from MTV, where a much shorter bearded Rubin popped up in early Beastie Boys music videos and other clips saying things like, 'we don't have a video yet because if we had a video we'd have to change the name from MTV to Beastie TV.'  I didn't know much about the music industry, or history yet and I just thought Rick Rubin, or DJ Double R as he was called, was the dude that got to hang out with the Beastie Boys all day, and hey, at that time, I wanted to hang out with the Beastie Boys all day.  As time went on and I did my research of Def Jam, and its humble beginnings in Rubin NYC dorm room my respect for him grew.  He later went from working with Def Jam artists like Public Enemy, LL Cool J and others to producing for the likes of the Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jay-Z, Johnny Cash, and a plethora of legends, all while never setting foot in a office and creating a musical and spiritual haven that resembled a castle and was shown to the world in Jay-Z's documentary, Fade To Black.  His beard grew just as much as his resume, which now includes the top title at Columbia Records where he guided the Clipse to a new record, stripped everyone of their titles, and is attempting to save the music business.  His name is popping up more and more these days with the 25th anniversary of Def Jam and the Hip Hop Honors that took place this week.  While not new,  The New York Times Magazine did a wonderful feature on Rubin that is as informative as it is inspiring.  The feature was emailed to by a friend, I read it and loved it.  Check it out right here. 

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