Russell Simmons & Rick Rubin talk about the beginnings of Def Jam+

mwandishi

mwandishi

New member
A four part interview with Rush and Rick:


i think they'll release the other 2 parts later.
I guess I need to go watch Crush Groove again.
 
I'm not going to listen to that because I highly doubt there is anything truthful in there. Rick Rubin is always full of shit.

Best info on the early days of Def Jam is this book:

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Quotes from pretty much everyone that was involved in Def Jam and the hip hop community back in the 80's is in this book.

NOBODY had good things to say about Rick Rubin.

He made a mockery out of Hip Hop. The only reason the Beastie Boys weren't taken seriously was because they were exploited by Rubin.

When The Beastie Boys finally freed themselves of Def Jam they released Paul's Boutique.... one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of ALL-TIME.

everyone slept on Paul's Boutique and it was considered a 'flop'...it didn't help that the most influential people in hip hop (Chuck D for example) weren't allowed to talk about how dope Paul's Boutique was because they were all still involved with Def Jam.
 
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^^^Well to each his own.
You can't deny his legacy and Def Jam was about more than just the Beastie Boys (LL, Slick rick, Public Enemy, etc.)

He made mockery of hip-hop? WTF
 
mwandishi said:
^^^Well to each his own.
You can't deny his legacy and Def Jam was about more than just the Beastie Boys (LL, Slick rick, Public Enemy, etc.)
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btw...
Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys is the one who discovered LL Cool J (not Def Jam)...he was the one who listened to his demo and played it for Rick

Ad Rock also helped LL Cool J write lyrics for his 1st hit ("I Need a Beat")

The Beastie Boys also brought Public Enemy to Def Jam

Public Enemy's 1st Def Jam Album (Yo! Bum Rush the Show) was funded by Licensed to Ill $

"I can see that Def Jam doesn't recognize me, I'm Mike D,
the one that put the satin in your panties"

 
mwandishi said:
He made mockery of hip-hop? WTF
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He definitely made a mockery out of the Beastie Boys....some would suggest he made a mockery out of hip hop itself....

KRS-One:

“There really would be no hip-hop as we know it today if it wasn’t for Def Jam. But you don’t get that respect without also being the label that single-handedly destroyed hip-hop…Every time you think of what’s wrong with hip-hop, the lyrics, the commercialized music, one artist being played on the radio all day, things like that, that’s all Def Jam"
 
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Like I said they legacy of Def Jam is bigger than the Beastie Boys.
Plus where I'm from cats bumped License to Ill, and never really got into there other stuff( I know they sold units)
According to your logic, they made the label.
Rush was a playa in the game and I think you're forgetting that. Ever heard of Run-DMC?
I still don't get you mockery comment
 
im1ufo said:
He definitely made a mockery out of the Beastie Boys....some would suggest he made a mockery out of hip hop itself....

KRS-One:

“There really would be no hip-hop as we know it today if it wasn’t for Def Jam. But you don’t get that respect without also being the label that single-handedly destroyed hip-hop…Every time you think of what’s wrong with hip-hop, the lyrics, the commercialized music, one artist being played on the radio all day, things like that, that’s all Def Jam"
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Well I as much as I respect KRS-One, running a label is a business.
I disagree with Krs, that's just the evolution of a business model.
Def Jam help grow hip-hop, that's a fact.
 
I was waiting for someone to bring up Run DMC, which is funny because they were never signed to the label, so whatever Russell did with them is irrelevant to the discussion of Def Jam.
 
Pumpthrust said:
I was waiting for someone to bring up Run DMC, which is funny because they were never signed to the label, so whatever Russell did with them is irrelevant to the discussion of Def Jam.
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Um duh, did u read all the comments. As this cat is basically claiming the Beastie Boys made Def Jam, and Rick Rubin made a mockery of hip-hop. Rush was managing Run- DMC prior to Def Jam so I would think the capital and connections he built up by managing the top rap group help him get the label off the ground.

im1ufo said:
"Got fat bass lines like Russell Simmons steals money."

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oh wow another Beastie Boy quote, well here's a PE quote:
"They can't dis-able the power of my label
Def Jam - tells you who I am . . "

The cultural significance of Public Enemy to hip-hop and the black community in the late 1980s was far greater than the Beastie boys.
Oh ya, I forgot they would be no PE without the Beastie Boys, according to you.

I mean dude did you really need a quote to say a record exec was accused of taking money from an artist.:4theloveofgod:

REALLY

In all seriousness I didn't start this thread to worship Rush and Rick, I was just acknowledging two key people who founded one of the most important labels in hip-hop history.

You can read all the books and find all the quotes you want, but I was around in the mid to late 80s when they were running shit.

Just like Berry Gordy, and countless others, Rush sold his half of the company and they did become more commercial in the 1990s.

But you are trying claim that the destroyed hip hop were not historical figures in the growth of the music. That's just absurd!
 
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mwandishi said:
The cultural significance of Public Enemy to hip-hop and the black community in the late 1980s was far greater than the Beastie boys.
Oh ya, I forgot they would be no PE without the Beastie Boys, according to you.
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so are you saying that Public Enemy's 1st album was not funded with Licensed to Ill $ ?

I didn't really mean to imply that Simmons and Rubin made a mockery out of the entire genre in the 80's...mostly just the Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys were all about THE MUSIC...Simmons and Rubin were all about exploitation and SELLING AN IMAGE


Simmons and Rubin are smart and talented guys don't get me wrong...they just give themselves way too much credit for a lot of shit
 
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mwandishi said:
Well I as much as I respect KRS-One, running a label is a business.
I disagree with Krs, that's just the evolution of a business model.
Def Jam help grow hip-hop, that's a fact.
Click to expand...

This is an example of when a person has their foot in their mouth. KRS is that dude but to understand Hip Hop's commercialization get familiar with if you ain't already

 
^^ Cool I read the book and I used some of the info in a paper I wrote a few years back.

U might want to also check out:

Bakari Kitwana, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America (New York: Basic Books, 2005

Tricia Rose, The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop – and Why it Matters(New York: Basic Books, 2008

Suzanne Smith, Dancing in the Streets: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 2000
 
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mwandishi said:
Bakari Kitwana, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America (New York: Basic Books, 2005
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I haven't read this book but I've read quotes and it seems pretty misguided.

It seems like a Black vs. White thing.....

Why do so many people ignore the involvement that the Latino community had when it comes to the to subject of the early days of hip hop?

Justifying Latino history in Hip-Hop culture
Even though Latinos clearly had a large impact on the formation of hip-hop, they were not assimilated into the mainstream hip-hop scene until 1990 (8). This may be due to the fact that hip-hop began to be dominated with purely African-American concerns by popular rap artists (9). Logically, this African-American domination of rap would lead one to forget the influence Latino artists originally maintained on hip-hop and to associate hip-hop as a genuine African-American cultural movement instead of a ghetto-driven movement of repressed minorities including both African-Americans and Latinos. This statement is confirmed by Rivera through an anecdote she provides of a Puerto Rican rap-fan during the afro-centric hip-hop phase discovering that his Puerto Rican heritage no longer related to the issues presented by such African-American rap artists like Public Enemy. The point is driven home further when his African-American friends tease him by saying, “Why can’t your people make good hip-hop” (10). Therefore, the marginalization of Latino-oriented issues and concentration of African-American concerns into mainstream hip-hop culture in a sense segregated Latinos and African-Americans while elevating African-American hip-hop to a purely cultural movement.
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Mike D hits it on the head when he says that Hip Hop was RACIALLY INCLUSIVE from the VERY BEGINNING

 
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If u haven't read it, how can u come to such a conclusion?
I think you're judging the title. Which is sad

Just because someone offers a critique of the role of the white mainstream' in the commodification of hip-hop does not mean they are denying the development of the culture or advocating the exclusion of any group.

None of the works I cited are on some racial bs.

Most musicians just care about whether u got skills or not.

But u seem to be concerned with advocating the importance of artists of a particular hue in many of your post.

I'm just saying. El-P and the Beastie Boys, is your motif.

Was is hip-hop even created by black people?


I don't role like that.
 
I was judging by the reviews of that book.

Sorry I sorta delrailed this thread...that wasn't my intention.

I'm not usually this argumentative in forums...it has been a stressful week haha

I like to debate every now and then but I'll definitely stop jumping to conclusions and playing devil's advocate just for the sake of it.

You're definitely wrong about my taste in hip hop. I'm pretty sure my taste is as diverse as anyone here. I've been listening to the genre since before Licensed to Ill was released.
 
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