Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons recently sat down to talk about the beginning of Def Jam Recordings, a record label that they co-founded with a focus on hip hop.
In the video below, they mainly go back and forth remembering the records that ended up defining hip hop.
Rubin explains that he wanted to make hip-hop records that sounded like what you heard at hip-hop clubs.
Def Jam’s first record was “It’s Yours” by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay in 1984. But Rubin talks about how he brought the song “I Need a Beat” by LL Cool J to Simmons and they decided that because they had the passion for hip-hop they should make the record and this led to an unexpected success.
The two also discuss the song “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” by LL Cool J. Rubin says that the idea for him to sing about the radio was Simmons idea.
Watch the video to find out more:
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