Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin (born March 10, 1963) is an American record executive and record producer. He is a co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip-hop by producing records for acts such as the Beastie Boys, Geto Boys, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and LL Cool J. He has also produced hit records for acts from a variety of other genres, predominantly heavy metal (Danzig, Metallica, and Slayer), alternative rock (the Cult, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Strokes and Weezer), hard rock (Audioslave and Aerosmith), nu-metal (Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down), and country (Johnny Cash and the Chicks). In 2007, Rubin was called "the most important producer of the last 20 years" by MTV and was named on Time's list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". His first book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, was published in January 2023.
Rick Rubin is een invloedrijke Amerikaanse muziekproducent en medeoprichter van Def Jam Recordings, bekend van het vormgeven van moderne hiphop, rock en metal.
Hij staat bekend om het produceren van baanbrekende albums voor artiesten als Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Johnny Cash en Red Hot Chili Peppers, en verschijnt in muziekdocumentaires zoals Sound City.
Hij was medeoprichter van Def Jam Recordings en richtte later American Recordings op.