Customer Reviews

The Men Behind Def Jam: The Radical Rise of Russell Simmons And Rick Rubin

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Alex Ogg did a superb job in his book on Russel Simmons and Rick Rubin, founders of the record label, "Def Jam". Ogg gave the men who launched the careers of Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, and other stars of hip hop their props. While I found it was an insightful read, I discovered that homorous touches and memorable moments abound throughout the book. Since I am an fan of the Beastie Boys, I enjoyed the early part of the book which dealt with the rap/rock phenomenon in the 1980's, although I was a bit dissapointed that Ogg didn't delve more deeply into how Rubin got to be friends and roomates with Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock of Beastie-Boy fame.) Nevertheless, Alex Ogg, a gifted writer, knows how to put together a good Def Jam history book, and without a doubt loves hip-hop very much.

I got this because my husband went to school with Rick Rubin and was good friends with him then. He found it interesting, course, Rick doesn't keep in touch and I think he isn't a very nice person. My hubbie keeps in touch with all his old high school friends and Rick was one of his closest. But, Rick's loss.