Frederick Jay Rick Rubin born March 10 1963 is an American record executive and record producer He is a cofounder alongside Russell Simmons of Def Jam Recordings founder of American Recordings and former copresident of Columbia Records Rubin helped popularize hiphop by producing records for acts such as the Beastie Boys Geto Boys RunDMC 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 numetal 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 Times 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