Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin (born March 10 1963 in Lido Beach, New York) is a Jewish American record producer and is currently the co-head of Columbia Records. He is given credit for merging rap and heavy metal (now known as rapcore), as well as the "American series" albums with Johnny Cash. MTV called him "the most important producer of the last 20 years." rick/news_feature_040503/" target="_blank">What's Up With That Bearded Guy From The '99 Problems' Video? - MTV.com
In addition to being a producer, he is a musician serving as the original DJ of the _Beastie Boys, and a head of a record label, co-founding Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons, and later founding American Recordings. In 2007, Rubin was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. Rubin was recently appointed as co-chairman of Columbia Records.
