As a promotion for the new Rapstar video game, here’s a trivia quiz for you too eff around with. It’s also made me realize that I need to get rid of the grey border’s on this site one of these days…
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When Rick Rubin is written about in the media, he is either portrayed as “the most important producer of the last 20 years” or as the shaggy ‘Wolfboy’ guru who carries lapis lazuli Buddhist prayer beads and dislikes footwear. While many of the startlingly broad range of musicians that have worked with Rick gush his praises, there seem to be just as many who were left disappointed by the experience. For every successful creative rebirth that Rubin has been involved in – such as reviving the careers of Metallica, Johnny Cash and The Dixie Chicks – there are also the aborted projects with groups like U2 and Muse.
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Considering the impact that the Def Jam label has had on hip-hop music, looking back over the first eight 12″ singles on the maroon label is pretty amusing. After the incredible debuts of super rapper T La Rock with ‘It’s Yours’ (on Def Jam/Partytime) and LL Cool J via ‘I Need A Beat’, the other early six releases that Rick Rubin had his hand in are a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality.
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Somehow or other, I recently found myself at the local library, where I stumbled across a book titled Def Jam, Inc. The author, Stacy Guerseva, did a great job of recalling the history from the early days of the label based in Rick Rubin‘s dorm through to the powerhouse that it would eventually become. Of course I was less interested in the corporate development and more focused on the what rap trivia I might find. Turns out there was a lot of great shit in there:
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