What I learned from reading Rick Rubin: In the Studio by Jake Brown.
There's no greater enigma than Rick Rubin working in record production today.
His career began in hip hop.
He co founded Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons in 1984.
He produced raps first number one album and was widely credited for launching hip hop as a viable commercial medium.
Refusing to play it safe, Rubin jumped ship from rap to metal, leaving Def Jam to found another record label, Deaf American, where he signed and produced groundbreaking acts like Slayer.
After his work on the hugely successful red Hot Chili Peppers acclaimed album Blood Sugar, Sex Magic, Rubin was only seven years into his career and already a living legend.
Though he worked with legends like Mick Jagger, AC DC, and Tom Petty in the early 1990s, it was his recordings with Johnny Cash that still stand out as his most astonishing and studied collaboration.
By the turn of the century, Rubin had invented, reinvented, or redefined so many musical genres that there was no way to categorize his style.
Rolling Stones called him the most successful producer of any genre.
But the praise and album sales didn't shake Rubin's focus as he dedicated himself to artist after artist.
Grammy nominations and awards poured in, including winning producer of the year.
But Rick Rubin, workaholic and recluse, found himself too busy to attend.
That is an excerpt from the book I'm going to talk to you about today, which is Rick Rubin in the studio, and it was written by Jake Brown.
This book wasn't even on my radar.
A few weeks ago, I did a podcast on Jay Z.
It's episode number 238.
And in that podcast, I talked about Jay Z studying and working with Rick Rubin.
And he said something that I thought was interesting.
He's like, rick ain't normal.
He is strange by strange standards.