Rick Was Here

Funny how history repeats itself. Countless independent labels rising in this new, very digital age trace their roots back to a college dorm room. In a twist of irony, the same can be said for hip-hop’s eldest and greatest label – Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons’ Def Jam. Rolling Stone chronicled the growth of the label in its latest mini-documentary: “Rick Was Here.” The video is centered around Rubin’s enterprise, which was run out of NYU’s Weinstein Hall on University Place. That same room-turned-studio was the first space to hear samples of LL Cool Jay, T La Rock and Jazzy Jay, and countless other seminal artists. Enjoy this important piece of music history above, then head over to Rolling Stone for the full testimony.