Excerpts From The New Book, Def Jam Inc. (Good Sh*t)
"He dressed like a substitue teacher."
Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin connected instantly, and before long Rubin went up to the Rush Productions office on Broadway and 26th Street. Simmons also visited Rick in his "tiny-ass dorm room that was nasty," he recalled. Rubin found Simmons's office equally disorganized and chaotic. Each was convinced that the other was more disorganized, when the truth was that they both ran a messy ship. Their fashion sense, on the other hand, couldn't have been more different. Simmons dressed "like a substitue teacher, really kind of square," Rubin recalls. Penny loafers, tweed jackets with suede elbow patches---anything but fashion foward---were what defined Russell's wardrobe in 1984. But all he was trying to do was to emulate his mentor in the business, Rocky Ford---former Billboard writer and co-producer of "Christmas Rappin"---and other black music executives, who all wore suits and ties.
"One Tape Got His Attention"
Because Rubin's dorm address was on the back of T. La Rock and Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours," every aspiring rapper in town without a record deal sent him a tape. But most of them "were horrible," Rubin recalled. Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz listened to every one and usually tossed them to the side. One tape, however, got his attention, and he played it for Rubin. "I can't say it was great," Rubin recalled, "but it was different and I liked it. There was something about it that just struck us as funny, and we wanted to hear it over and over again. I eventually learned that when something makes you laugh, that's a really good sign." The demo was LL Cool J's.
"We Made The Worst Of It."
"I'm the king of the Paramount!!" Ad-Rock stood onstage at Seattle's Paramount Theatre, screaming to an audience filled with teenage girls with frosted hair and Ray-Ban shades. They weren't the Beastie Boys' typical audience, but that was because they didn't come to see the Beastie Boys. It was April 12, 1985, and the girls had come for their idol, Madonna. This was her tour, The Virgin Tour, and the Beasties were just her mismatched opening act. The little girls didn't like these three sweaty, potty-mouthed, obnoxious, pimply young guys. The Beasties knew this, and in the words of Rick Rubin, who joined them as their DJ, Double R, "We made the worst of it." On most nights, the Beasties were practically booed off the stage. Some journalists called the act "unfortunate" or "embarrasingly amateur." Others pointed out that the Beasties made up for what Madonna lacked in sense of humor and irony about the entire situation, along with being musically adventerous. "Whoever thought of doing a rap over an AC/DC track should be given a medal," wrote one reporter.
"A Company Within a Company"
Chuck D knew that he couldn't be the only face of Public Enemy. He and Hank Shocklee wanted to create "a company within a company." In a word, a collective of performers outside of the conventional band structure, who would be conscious of their image and how to market it to their audience. The first supporting member added was Flavor Flav, who was essentially the hype man. Their DJ would be another college friend, named Terminator X. Next, they added Professor Griff, a longstanding member of the Nation of Islam whom Chuck had known since fourth grade. Griff would become a kind of liaison between the group and the media. They dubbed him "minister of information." Through Griff's ties to the Nation Of Islam, Chuck decided to add three men to serve as the group's onstage security force; he wanted them to be dressed in outfits that were part Black Panther, part soldier, and dubbed them S1W's---short for Security of the First World.
In addition to his other responsibilities, {future label CEO} Lyor Cohen also had to do most of the damage control while his groups were on the road. One famous example was in Long Beach, California, on August 17, 1986, when a near riot ended the entire show. Apparently the Crips and the Bloods had arranged for a fight to take place inside the venue. The performers, of course, had no idea. As small pockets of fighting started to break out while LL Cool J was onstage, it was announced that unless people calmed down, the rest of the show would be played with the lights on. But the situation only escalated, and the houselights went on just as Run-DMC started their set. Jam Master Jay, as usual, came out to tune up his turntable---he always started their show by scratching "Run, Run Run" ---with an enormous rope chain around his neck. Apparently, the gangbangers got incredibly excited by Jay's giant gold chain. "Stop, stop, stop," the promoter, Roger Claton of Uncle Jamm's Army fame, suddenly screamed to Jay. "Get off the stage! They're coming for your chain, man!!!"
"Fear of Failure"
Lyor Cohen took his take-no-prisoners attitude into the office when he started working full-tume at the 298 Elizabeth Street office. There was a tremendous "fear of failure" in the wake of Rubin's departure {to Los Angeles}, and Cohen didn't want to become known as the guy who sank Def Jam. On his ship, there would be little tolerance for sloppy work. "You were always concerned that Cohen would spot mistakes," graffiti artist Cey Adams recalled. "It wasn't uncommon for him to fling a project across the room if he saw a flaw in it. He had the worst temper back then."
"I'm Ready To Shoot, White Boy!!"
Director Brett Ratner, from his introduction: Around the corner from his house we met Redman's crew, the Pack Pistol Posse. Redman said, "Now I'm ready to shoot, whiteboy!" No makeup, no props, no wardrobe styling, just the clothes on their backs. Typical Def Jam artist---signed because of his talent, charisma and star quality. There were no gimmicks.
The video shoot then moved to Harlem, where 150 of Redman's closest friends were all standing in the cold waiting to be in his video. Redman got a last-minute idea to have a "white b*tch" roll up and buy some weed. I said to him, "But Reg, its 3am. There are no white b*tches on the street in Harlem right now." He pointed off into the distance and said, "What about that white b*tch'? "That's my mom!" I said. He said, "So what?" And that's how my mom ended up being the "white b*tch rolling up and buying some weed" in the Redman video.
"Unpredictable Behavior"
Perhaps one of the reasons for the delay of Slick Rick's album was his sometimes unpredictable behavior, which could make working with him difficult. One day, he walked into 298 Elizabeth Street, and after being unable to get the staff's attention, took out a pistol and fired three shots into the ceiling, yelling: "Attention, peasants!!"
"I'd like to be him."
Some people in the industry thought that Simmons had sold out. ("Hip-Hop died when Russell bought Cher's apartment," wrote one critic.) But Simmons couldn't care less about what others thought. The physical move also marked a social step up into a stratosphere of new wealth and success, one inhabited by downtown showbiz royalty like Robert De Niro. "I'd like to be him," he said of De Niro. Within a month Russell was a partner in De Niro's trendy eatery Tribeca Bar and Grill, after Quincy Jones pulled out.
"I can't shoot her. I hate her."
Although Def Jam could control where it put its money, it certainly couldn't control its artists' attitudes. And Foxy had one of the worst in the business. For the cover of her debut album, Ill Na Na, Foxy Brown was scheduled to be shot by Norman Watson, the son of the world-famous phtographer Albert Watson. Norman was based in England, where Foxy was going to do a promo show, so the photo shoot was planned in London. Steve Carr, who was art-directing the project, flew in with her. "Foxy, of course, is late, and comes in, and Norman starts trying to talk to her in a really sweet, nice way," Carr recalls. "She was looking through stylists portfolios, like "This is bullsh*t, this sucks. Where's all the black girls?'
"He pointed off into the distance and said, "What about that white b*tch'? "That's my mom!" I said. He said, "So what?" And that's how my mom ended up being the "white b*tch rolling up and buying some weed" in the Redman video."
Slick Rick - after being unable to get the staff's attention, took out a pistol and fired three shots into the ceiling, yelling: "Attention, peasants!!"
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Excerpts From The New Book, Def Jam Inc. (Good Sh*t)
good read
