Welcome to THIS edition of GOOD QUESTION, brought to you by THISENT.com! I’m your columnist M.J. Walker.
We’re longtime fans of Red Alert Studios’ award-winning producer/recording artist Sam Rhansum, and with this series we wanted to honor him and his incredible career in the music industry.
During our recent conversation I asked Rhansum THIS GOOD QUESTION: Who are your TOP 5 favorite music producers?
His third answer was, “Rick Rubin.
When I came up in Hip Hop, I was always a student. I loved to learn about the producers, the influences they had, the gear they rocked, and the samples they used.
The History of Hip-Hop is nothing without Rick, and his diversity is what makes him so freaking genius.
Dude started in a punk band. A freaking punk band! Loose, loud, crunchy, tuning was a waste of time, scream out your anger punk music! But that understanding and background expanded what Hip Hop was at the time.
Starting Def Jam is history, but who he was is what made Def Jam.
Most rappers were still coming off disco, party, dance floor shit, at least sonically, and Rick was gravitating towards aggressive vibes. That punk attitude drew him to sign and produce LL Cool J, I’m sure. “Rock the Bells”, man….
Then he works Run DMC King of Rock, then Raising Hell. Dude produced the first Hip Hop album to ever go platinum! The Beasties whole License to Ill, so many tracks were just bigger than what others were putting out. Not just because of the big drums and rock guitars, it was this attitude. Beasties “Hold it Now, Hit It” was all over the place, but it was like nothing out there. And then freaking “Paul Revere”… THAT BACKWARDS BEAT????
Rick stands differently than the others I’ve listed because he wasn’t always the musician. Sometimes the engineer, sometimes the executive producer. I know his mindset steered many of the creators or he at least allowed them to push limits and had the chops to polish it up and make it a finished product.
Those Def Jam joints had this certain vibe. It was hard. It stood out. So much of his executive producing makes so much sense with this understanding of who he was. Especially Public Enemy. Then he goes over to produce Slayer, Danzig, and The Cult.
No doubt his propers were earned in Hip Hop but he didn’t stop there. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, NIN, Sheryl Crow, and freaking Rage Against the Machine. It’s that diversity that gets me. Eminem to Ed Sheeran, Wu Tang to Lady Gaga, ZZ Top to Adele. His production and executive production list is G.O.A.T.-level for multiple genres.” |THIS.
[By M.J. Walker]
“My five favorite producers is a tough one. I dig every style of music out there and try to find something that moves me in every song I hear. But I do gravitate to those that evolve and create stuff that influences their entire genre. Like, it made such an impact sonically with their style and pallet that what they created became the sound of music for a while. When I get impressed by these types, I study them. I go back and follow their evolution. And I can talk about them like I was there. As much as Hip Hop and music in general is who I am, not just what I do, I’m still just a student and a fan.” – Sam Rhansum
