Rick Rubin, the legendary producer whose influence is still heralded as gospel, said that he knows nothing about music. In a recent interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes, he explained how he has no technical knowledge of music production. Moreover, he had some insights as to why his style and taste is so sought-after… and successful.
“Do you play instruments?” Cooper asked the Def Jam co-founder. “Barely,” he replied, to which Cooper responded almost incredulously: “Do you know how to work a soundboard?”
“No. I have no technical ability, and I know nothing about music,” Rubin stated. Cooper laughed, as we’re sure many did when they heard those words. Furthermore, given his track record (Kanye West, Run-DMC, The Strokes, Johnny Cash, Black Sabbath, and Eminem just to name a few), this seems preposterous. Still, the 59-year-old identified why he stamped his name into the game.
“I know what I like and what I don’t like, and I’m decisive about what I like and what I don’t like,” he expressed.
“So what are you being paid for?” Cooper asked. “The confidence that I have in my taste and my ability to express what I feel has proven helpful for artists,” the Beastie Boys producer said humbly.
In a previous interview with Channel 4 News, the producer highlighted the importance of singularity and not comparing yourself to others. Moreover, such advice likely fueled some of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Some are License to Ill by The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. However, more recent examples of Rubin’s genius are Ye’s Yeezus and Slim Shady’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
“We each have a singular voice, we each have our own voice,” he told Channel 4. “What I do is different than what you do…we all do something different and they’re not comparable. They have nothing to do with each other. It’s apples and oranges.
“So if you make something today and you think it can be better,” he concluded, “tomorrow you can improve it. You can continually make the thing you’re making better. You can learn and practice and do anything.”
Still, what do you think of Rick Rubin supposedly knowing “nothing” about music? However you may feel, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, stay tuned to HNHH for more wisdom from the music industry’s genius gurus.