Frederick Jay Rubin, simply known as Rick Rubin, is a famous American singer, rap artist, keyboard player, as well as a record producer. To the public, Rick Rubin is perhaps best known as the co-founder of a popular record label called “Def Jam Recordings”, which he co-created with the well-known business magnate Russell Simmons. “Def Jam” was founded in 1983 and is considered to be one of the most popular labels with the focus on the hip hop and urban music. Currently, it has Iggy Azalea, Ludacris, Nas, Rick Ross, Pusha T, 2 Chainz and other artists under their roof.
Rick Rubin Net Worth $250 Million
As a co-founder of “Def Jam”, Rick Rubin established himself in the music industry and became a well-known and respected persona. Named the most important producer of the last 20 years by MTV network, Rick Rubin has been working with some of the most known artists in the world, including Tom Petty, Black Sabbath, Sheryl Crow, Metallica, Jay-Z, AC/DC, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Ray, and Kanye West to name a few. Due to his influences on the music industry, Rick Rubin was featured on the list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” compiled by the “Time” magazine.
A famous record producer and a winner of “Lifetime of Harmony Award”, how rich is Rick Rubin? According to sources, Rick Rubin’s net worth is estimated to be an impressive $250 million. Undoubtedly, most of Rick Rubin’s net worth and wealth comes from his involvement in the music industry.
Rick Rubin was born in 1963, in Lido Beach, New York, where he studied at Long Beach High School. While still a student, Rick Rubin learned how to play the guitar and eventually created a punk group entitled “The Pricks”. However, Rubin did not succeed as a guitar player, since he only knew a couple of basic chords. Rubin then switched and focused on producing music instead. When Rubin co-founded “Def Jam” in 1983, he started to get interested in hip hop production and created a song for an emcee T La Rock under the name of “It’s Yours”. While in “Def Jam”, Rubin signed “Public Enemy” to the label, helped “Beastie Boys” shift from punk to rap, produced an album for a British hard rock band called “The Cult” and made other significant changes that later influenced the entire “Def Jam” label.
However, Rubin and Russell Simmons soon parted ways and he went on to create his own record label called “American Recordings”. Rubin’s major accomplishment with his label was the release of Johnny Cash’s country album called “American Recordings”, which Rubin also produced. The album proved to be a major success, as it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Rubin also worked on Jay-Z’s song “99 Problems”, produced albums for Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Metallica and Shakira, and recently finished working on “Black Sabbath’s” nineteen studio album entitled “13”, which, just as his many other projects, proved to be commercially successful.
A well-known record producer, Rick Rubin has an estimated net worth of $250 million.
Def Jam Recordings, American Recordings, Columbia, Warner Bros. Records, Epic Records
Nominations
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Academy of Country Music Award for Album of the Year
Movies
Runnin' Down a Dream, Tougher Than Leather, Krush Groove
#
Trademark
1
Stripped down Musical productions which avoid using too many Instrumental sounds
2
Thick, huge beard, and eyes always covered with sunglasses
#
Quote
1
I never made beats to make beats; I only made them when there was a record to make them for. That's one of the things that has changed in hip-hop that's made me like it less. It feels much more like it's a producer-driven medium, where there are all these tracks that are completely interchangeable.
2
I think with certain artists you want to hear their album... and then there are other artists who I like where maybe it's more about the single. I don't think there is going to be one way that everything works.
3
When you're vegan, you spend your time chasing protein, and you're eating food that's way too high in carbs. I could never catch up on protein.
4
From the time I was 9 years old, I loved magic. I was an only child, and I think that had a big impact on me. I always had grown-up friends even though I was a little kid. I would take the train from Lido Beach into Manhattan, and I'd hang out in magic shops.
5
I really loved crunk. I loved the extreme nature of it, how repetitious it was, and how these basic, angry chants would just be repeated over and over again.
6
At 15, I started listening to hard rock and heavy metal, but I would say it was more hard rock because I liked Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, and eventually AC/DC.
7
I don't even know what a traditional producer is or does. I feel like the job is like being a coach, building good work habits and building trust. You want to get to a point where you can say anything and talk about anything. There needs to be a real connection.
8
I liked things about all the Run-D.M.C. records. I can remember when I first heard 'Sucker MCs,' and how much that meant to me. And the song 'Jam Master Jay' really meant a tremendous amount to me, as a fan. They were my favorite group at the time, and it was my dream to get to work with them, and then I did, and it was an unbelievable experience.
9
I guess edgy things tend to get my attention.
10
I was the only punk rocker at my high school. And there were at least a handful of black kids who liked hip-hop. Both were kind of the new music of the day, and it was lonely being the only punk.
11
My taste changes radically all the time, and I listen to whatever feels good. Another thing is that I'm in the studio so much of the time, and I listen to so much loud, aggressive music for work, that for pleasure, I'll listen to something else.
12
Usually when I start a new project there's a fear of the unknown; maybe it's a band I've never been in the studio with before. People are so different. It's almost like you need to go through the process, discover and unlock what it is that makes that band that band. And a lot of times they don't know it.
13
I played more of an advisory role with Public Enemy. I really trusted them to make the music that they wanted to make, and the way The Bomb Squad worked with the... they created their whole own world of music.
14
I'm just trying to make my favorite music. That's how I work; I just do things based on the way they feel to me. I want to be touched by the music I'm making. Luckily, other people have shared that response to my work over the years.
15
I always feel like there's something magic in recording studios. There's a reason good music continues to be made in them. It's just some mojo element.
16
Everything happens kind of the way it's supposed to happen, and we just watch it unfold. And you can't control it. Looking back, you can't say, 'I should've... ' You didn't, and had you, the outcome would have been different.
17
Everything I do, whether it's producing or signing an artist, always starts with the songs. When I'm listening, I'm looking for a balance that you could see in anything. Whether it's a great painting or a building or a sunset.
18
In between 15 and 20 - probably at around 17 - my interests switched from hard rock to punk rock. And then by 20 they were circling out of punk rock back into Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the stuff that I didn't get to when I was younger.
19
I've always been an outsider. When I did magic, I was the only kid. When I worked with Johnny Cash, I was completely out of place in Nashville. And when I started Def Jam, I was the only white guy in the hip-hop world.
20
I never decide if an idea is good or bad until I try it. So much of what gets in the way of things being good is thinking that we know. And the more that we can remove any baggage we're carrying with us, and just be in the moment, use our ears, and pay attention to what's happening, and just listen to the inner voice that directs us, the better.
21
For me, the Beatles are proof of the existence of God.
22
It's a big theme in my life, learning about myself and being a better person. I'm a work in progress; I have revelations every day.
23
There's just a natural human element to a great song that feels immediately satisfying. I like the song to create a mood.
24
I like things that are unique and extreme.
25
I don't know what makes someone hip. The goal is artist achievement and the best work we can do with no limitation.
26
I never really think so much about commercial success; I usually just think about records that move me, and 'Baby Got Back' was one that moved me.
27
I've gotten to work with amazing people. I would say usually we get to a point before we get into the studio where there isn't that sense of anxiety or nervousness of who they are because I don't think it would be as productive in the studio if that was the case. But maybe meeting someone like Neil Young for the first time made me anxious.
28
When they started, there was no such thing as heavy metal and it feels like the whole genre is based on 'Black Sabbath'. It may not always have sounded the same, and it's gone through a lot of changes, and there's a lot of really interesting metal that sounds like 'Black Sabbath'. But it feels like they were probably the first with the idea that this dark, heavy music could be the whole trip.
#
Fact
1
Huge fan of professional wrestling.
2
Currently recording in a studio producing Metallica's upcoming album. [August 2006]
3
Planning to record the next ZZ Top album that should be out later this year or 2009. [June 2008]
4
Produced the critically acclaimed Neil Diamond album "12 Songs", released Nov. 8, 2005. [November 2005]
After collaborating with them for about 3 years, he had a mysterious falling out with the Beastie Boys in 1987, around the same time the group left their then-label, Def Jam Recordings and signed with Capitol/EMI Records, for whom they have recorded ever since. It is unclear whether the Beastie Boys left Def Jam as a result of their conflict with Rubin, or whether their ended friendship was because the group left the label for financial reasons. Shortly after the Beasties left Def Jam, Rick Rubin claimed he deserved all the credit for their success because he totally crafted their image and songs, although this never went to court.