Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin (/ˈruːbɪn/; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, he is the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and also established American Recordings. With the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Geto Boys, and Run-DMC, Rubin helped popularize hip hop music. Rubin has also worked with other artists such as Adele, Audioslave, Linkin Park, AC/DC, Kanye West, Johnny Cash, The Avett Brothers, Tom Petty, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Slayer, System of A Down, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Limp Bizkit, Kendrick Lamar and Slipknot amongst others.
In 2007, MTV called him "the most important producer of the last 20 years", and the same year Rubin appeared on Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Frederick Jay Rubin was born in Long Beach, New York and grew up in Lido Beach, New York. His father, Michael (Mickey) was a shoe wholesaler and his mother, Linda, a housewife. He is of Jewish descent. While a student at Long Beach High School he befriended the school's audiovisual department director Steve Freeman who gave him a few lessons in guitar playing and songwriting.