Dawn of Def Jam: Rick Rubin Returns to His NYU Dorm Room

So, what is it that Rick Rubin does? How has he helped artists make their best music for almost half a century across such disparate genres and styles? The secret seems to be rooted in self-discovery. As Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks put it, Rubin “has the ability and the patience to let music be discovered, not manufactured”—or, to use our te

As artists, we seek to restore our childlike perception: a more innocent state of wonder and appreciation not tethered to utility or survival.