Post: #1

I like reading in depth interviews, where you get a better feel for the person and hear behind the scenes stories. I may do a small series on influential men if people are interested.

This whole interview with Rick Rubin is well done and worth reading all the way through. I've also highlighted some of my favourite parts with relevant links.

He starts off talking about Kanye's new "Yeezus" album, which I thought is easily one of Kanye's worst albums, and now with the back story it starts to make sense:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/20...=longreads

Quote:The thing is, when you’re a fan from the outside of something, you can embrace it in a different way than when you’re a fan from the inside. Run-D.M.C. could be sort of gangstery in their own way, pre-gangster rap, because they were suburban kids. Kurtis Blow, who was from Harlem and really around gangsters, he didn’t want to be a gangster. He wanted to look above it and wear leather boots and be more like a rock star. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were really inner-city, hard-life guys, and they wanted to be from outer space.

Quote:From the beginning, all I’ve ever cared about is things being great. I never cared about when they were done. Because I also feel like I want the music to last forever. And once you release it, you can’t go back and fix it, so you really have to get it right. And that takes time.

Quote:I remember hearing the song “Straight Outta Compton” for the first time and I couldn’t believe it. Loved it. And I remember going to see them play. I think it was in Inglewood. It was the first time I saw a lot of guns in hip-hop. Before N.W.A went out on stage, a guy came around with towels, and he opened up the towels and there were loaded guns. And everybody got loaded up to go out on stage. It was unbelievable. And I remember Eazy-E walking around backstage watching a portable TV and holding a machine gun.

Quote:What do you remember most vividly about working with Cash?

On our first album, there was a song he wrote, I can’t remember which one it was, but I listened to it and said, “Do you think you could take some of the ‘I’s and ‘me’s out of it?” And he thought about it and he was like, “Yeah, I think I can do that.” And he did. So 10 years later, I’m visiting him in Nashville. He’s in a wheelchair. He’s blind, pretty much. It felt so awkward. So I said, “What have you been working on lately?” And he said, “I’ve been working on using ‘I’ and ‘me’ less.” And I said, “Really?” And he said, “Yeah. Remember? You gave me that comment on the song? That’s what I’ve been working on.” Incredible. He didn’t mean it in the context of songs. He meant it in the context of life.

Quote: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. But it’s not the voice in your head. It’s a different voice. It’s not intellect. It’s not a brain function. It’s a body function, like running from a tiger.

Post: #2

Respect for his girl. I mean... he looks like a homeless guy in a suit.

Post: #3

Rick Rubin is a straight up legend. One of the Co-founders of Def Jam along with Russell Simmons, basically put hip-hop on the map. If anyone can get away with looking homeless and pulling hot ass it's that guy.

Post: #4

Thank you for sharing! Rubin´s did a lot for modern music. Fun fact: He rode shotgun with Jay-Z in the music video of "99 Problems"

Post: #5

Yes, Rubin has been influential in hip-hop from it's infancy. He's the ultimate behind-the-scenes guy, and unless you really know music, you don't really know who he is. The music business is also one of the few businesses where how you look and dress really doesn't matter. One of my best friends is in the business - he's managed a high-profile act, is starting his own publishing business, and has already gotten music into films. The only time since I've known him that I've seen him dressed was when he was a groomsman in weddings. Otherwise he's in a t-shirt or sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, and a Yankee cap. He goes to meetings with lawyers and execs like that. Some of those execs are in jeans, or whatever they want. In some ways, a look like Rubin's becomes your signature.

Post: #6

(06-30-2013 05:03 AM)Roosh Wrote:  Respect for his girl. I mean... he looks like a homeless guy in a suit.

Shows the power of the Custom Suit.

Post: #7

I thought the guy was from Duck Dynasty at first.

Post: #8

This guy really puts white guys who groupie around cool black guys and start dressing hip hop into perspective.

Rolled with some of the most famous hip hop artists of our time - created them - and not for a second did he lose a grip on his own sense of identity. Rocked his own crazy, white trash style all the way.

This is how a true leader behaves. Much respect.













Yes to more of these posts, OP.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #9

This was a pretty good quote:

Quote:What was it like being in the studio while they were making Straight Outta Compton?

I remember hearing the song “Straight Outta Compton” for the first time and I couldn’t believe it. Loved it. And I remember going to see them play. I think it was in Inglewood. It was the first time I saw a lot of guns in hip-hop. Before N.W.A went out on stage, a guy came around with towels, and he opened up the towels and there were loaded guns. And everybody got loaded up to go out on stage. It was unbelievable. And I remember Eazy-E walking around backstage watching a portable TV and holding a machine gun.

Post: #10

Rick Rubin is one of my musical heroes. I met him once in Santa Monica on 3rd street completely by accident, I literally bumped into him and said "woah, you're Rick Rubin - I'm a huge fan!" He shook my hand, said thanks a lot very humbly, and we both went our separate ways.

Man is a true legend - he is the core of modern music.

Post: #11

he actually started in punk, and was responsible for some of the greatest punk and metal acts of all time as well. living legend.

Post: #12

(06-30-2013 03:32 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Shows the power of the Custom Suit.

Nah, it shows the power of the custom life.

Post: #13

He looked like a 80s Roosh when he was younger

Post: #14

I realized the link has changed in the opening post, so here's the updated one with the same article:

http://www.newsweek.com/2013/06/26/rick-...37646.html

Post: #15

Great podcast with Rick Rubin that goes deeper into his history and philosophy:

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/05/15/rick-rubin/