Rick Rubin

Date: 2022-10-12 | Duration: 3h 5m

Episode Overview

Rick Rubin — the legendary record producer behind everyone from Johnny Cash to Jay-Z, from the Beastie Boys to Adele — finally sits across from Joe for a conversation about creativity, process, and what makes great art. Rick describes his journey from producing hip hop in his New York dorm room to Slayer and Danzig, following the music that felt most challenging to him in any given moment. They explore how artists can be ostracized by mainstream media at first, reverse engineering why certain decisions led to great outcomes, and the specific way Rick works with artists — starting with emotion, building to specificity, ending with truth. Rick's philosophy is that the work itself always knows what it wants to be, and the producer's job is just to help it get there.

About Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin is a legendary record producer renowned for his innovative approach to music and his ability to bridge genres. Co-founding Def Jam Recordings with Russell Simmons, he played a pivotal role in shaping hip-hop's golden era, collaborating with iconic artists like Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. His diverse discography includes work with rock titans such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Sabbath, as well as country music legends like Johnny Cash. Known for his minimalist production style and keen ear for talent, Rubin has earned multiple Grammy Awards, solidifying his reputation as one of the most influential figures in contemporary music. His unique ability to extract raw emotion from artists makes him a sought-after collaborator, captivating audiences with his vision and artistry.

Key Moments

– From hip hop in a dorm room to producing Slayer and Danzig
– Following whatever music feels most challenging in the moment
– How great artists get ostracized by mainstream media first
– Reverse engineering successful creative decisions
– Rick's production philosophy — the work knows what it wants to be
– Working with emotion, specificity, and truth
0:00:00 – Rick Rubin — pleasure to finally meet. Beautiful place.
0:29:03 – Producing Slayer and Danzig — following the most challenging music
0:53:53 – Ostracized by mainstream media — the artist's typical arc
1:20:57 – The scene construction: anger, then Matthew's line, then Lisa's line
1:49:21 – Reverse engineering good outcomes from past decisions

Transcript Excerpt

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night, all day. Rick Rubin, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Same. Happy to be here. I'm happy to have you here, man. I'm excited to talk to you. Starting point is 00:00:20 Beautiful place. Thank you. And if you see shooting stars across the ceiling, you're not tripping. Okay. Every like 40 seconds or something, a star shoots across the ceiling. So what's happening, man? Just hanging. You wrote a book. Starting point is 00:00:32 I wrote a book. I'm excited to read it, man. Yeah, I'm excited for you to see it. You've had a wild life, brother. It continues to surprise me on a regular basis. Does it? Every time. It's like one thing after another. Starting point is 00:00:46 So much of it's unintentional. I would say all of it's unintentional. How so? From the beginning, I never thought any of the things that I'm doing were possible or realistic. And I just did things out of the love of them thinking I would have real jobs. And, you know, like the thing that, that my passion would be my hobby and I'd have a job to support my hobby. Yeah. And it just magically turned out different than that without me knowing it was Starting point is 00:01:22 possible. That's the best kind of story. I love those stories. Because when someone just follows their passion and it just leads them to being one of the baddest motherfuckers in music. How did you get started? I just started making, I went to, was in a punk rock band first. And I recorded a couple of punk rock things with my band and liked the feeling of being in the studio. It was fun. Starting point is 00:01:48 And hip-hop was just getting started at this time. And I would go to, there was a club called Negril on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan downtown. It was a reggae club most nights, but one night a week it was hip-hop. And this was when hip-hop was, it didn't really exist other than in the Bronx, Brooklyn. ...

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Who was the guest on Joe Rogan Experience #1881?

Rick Rubin was the guest on JRE #1881. This page includes the episode overview, topics discussed, and related resources.

What topics were discussed on JRE #1881?

On Joe Rogan Experience #1881 with Rick Rubin, topics include From hip hop in a dorm room to producing Slayer and Danzig, Following whatever music feels most challenging in the, How great artists get ostracized by mainstream media first, and Reverse engineering successful creative decisions.

Where can I read the transcript for JRE #1881?

The full searchable transcript for Joe Rogan Experience #1881 with Rick Rubin is on the dedicated transcript page for this episode, with timestamps and in-page search.