Rick Rubin Quotes
20 quotes from Rick Rubin — Record producer who co-founded Def Jam Recordings and has produced albums for everyone from LL Cool J to Johnny Cash to.
“Everything happens kind of the way it's supposed to happen, and we just watch it unfold. And you can't control it. Looking back, you can't say, 'I should've…' You didn't, and had you, the outcome would have been different.”
“I'm just trying to make my favorite music. That's how I work; I just do things based on the way they feel to me. I want to be touched by the music I'm making. Luckily, other people have shared that response to my work over the years.”
“The purpose of the work is to awaken something in you first and then allow something to be awakened in others and it's fine if they're not the same thing.”
“The making of art is not a competitive act. Our work is representative of the self.”
“By accepting self-doubt rather than trying to eliminate or repress it we lessen its energy and interference.”
“The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”
“I like things that are unique and extreme.”
“I guess edgy things tend to get my attention.”
“Living life as an artist is a practice. You can engage in the practice or not.”
“There's great wisdom in transitional realms between wakefulness and sleep.”
“I've gotten to work with amazing people.”
“The ability to look deeply is the root of creativity.”
“I want them to say, "This is the best thing I've ever heard," and not know why.”
“He's probably the most committed spiritual person I've ever met. He really lived his life according to his connection with God, really.”
“At first, I thought, We're making a record — I don't want to be converted. He's so sure of his opinion that you become sure of his opinion too. And isn't that what gurus do?”
“I have no technical ability. And I know nothing about music. Well, I know what I like and what I don't like. And I'm decisive about what I like and what I don't like.”
“The audience comes last. The audience doesn't know what they want. The audience only knows what's come before.”
“We're trying to tap into a feeling. We're trying to tap into something that makes you wanna lean forward and pay more attention.”
“Rick Rubin is one of the pillar stones of hip-hop. He didn't pioneer the production, he didn't pioneer the rap, but he pioneered a certain energy for it to be daring.”
“I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.”
