Everybody loves Rick Rubin. And why not, right?
With his epic beard and laidback attitude to producing some of the last century's finest records, he's the music industry's equivalent of The Dude.
One marketing guru who's well aware of Rubin's cachet, and knows exactly how to use it, is Jay-Z. Rubin had nothing at all to do with Jigga's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, but you wouldn't know that from watching the promotional clips for the album.
Rubin (who did help produce Kanye West's Yeezus) appears in the glorified Samsung ads, but not because he actually had a hand in producing the record — rather, Hov just happened to have Rubin around for a chat when the commercial was being filmed.
He might not do that again after hearing Rubin's passive-aggressive review of the album in an interview with XXL. "It was a little difficult," Rubin said diplomatically, "after just coming from the Kanye sessions, to listen to Jay's album, because they're so different." While West was in a "very alternative and progressive headspace", Rubin says Jay's record is just "a more traditional hip hop record".
Still, we can understand why Jay wanted to use Rubin as studio furniture — he really tied the room together.
