“Self-expression is not about you”

Rick Rubin, American record producer and co-founder of Def Jam Records (amongst other things) described in a recent interview how at one point he worked every day for about twenty years in the world of music - though he enjoys more balance in his life these days. Said interview was for his newly-released book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being. The book’s blurb reads: “Many famed music producers, however brilliant, become known for a particular sound which has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin, on the other hand, is most famous for something else: for creating a strong safe space where artists of wildly different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. To surprise themselves, and thus the world. Rubin’s true art is for helping people get out of their own way and commune with the powerful creative signal that is their birthright.” From famously saying no to Adele, to working with Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ed Sheeran and Kanye West… he has worked with dozens of artists - across genres and styles - during his decades spent in the world of music. Considering all of the above… interview snippets I’ve caught from his book promotional activities, quotes from the book I’ve come across, and everything else… The Creative Act: A Way of Being is firmly on my to-read list.