POP MUSIC; The 'Devil' (or Is It Angel?) of Rap and Rock

If record industry legend is to be believed, Rick Rubin never goes to the office. Rather, he prefers to conduct business over the telephone -- either from his black Rolls-Royce or while lying in bed at his home in Hollywood behind the famed rock-and-roll hangout, the Chateau Marmont. But it's unlikely anyone in the music business would care where the 29-year-old Mr. Rubin spent his time if he weren't constantly turning up in a third place: at the top of the pop charts.

Since producing his first record in 1984 while a student at New York University, Mr. Rubin, the founder and head of Def American Records, has become one of the most influential record producers and executives in America. In the last year, he has had a hand in the success of three dissimilar pop acts. He produced the latest album from the alternative rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," for Warner Brothers Records; it has sold more than two million copies and is now No. 9 on the pop charts. His label released albums by the rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot and the Southern rock band the Black Crowes; Sir Mix-a-Lot's album contains the racy hit "Baby Got Back," which held the No. 1 position on the singles chart for six weeks this summer, while the Black Crowes' "Southern Harmony and Musical Company" made its debut at the top of the album charts and is currently No. 25.

At first glance, Mr. Rubin appears forbidding: his shoulder-length hair, full beard and ever-present sunglasses inspired former co-workers to dub him "the Devil." Whether the nickname is deserved is unclear. But what is clear is that Mr. Rubin is a savvy businessman who knows what he likes and isn't afraid to go after it, even though his inclinations run to acts that the major record companies tend to shy away from. Among Def American's most successful performers have been Andrew Dice Clay, a comedian whose routines are frequently homophobic, misogynist and racist, and Slayer, a heavy-metal band whose music is filled with satanic imagery. "I consider myself part of the marketplace," Mr. Rubin says, "and if I react to something personally, then that's the only motivation I go by."

Mr. Rubin has a reputation within the music industry for having a real feel for the records people want to buy. "Rick is as close to the streets as anyone and probably one of the great visionaries in the record business," says Tom Silverman, whose Tommy Boy Records will soon distribute Mr. Rubin's new dance- and rap-oriented label, Ill Records. "The only thing that influences him is the response of buyers. There aren't too many people like him in the record business. Most try to dictate a sensibility to the consumers, but he never does. His sensibilities are the sensibilities of the consumer."

What may be most impressive about Mr. Rubin is that he is actually enjoying two careers: in just five years, his company has become one of the country's most successful new labels. When not running Def American, his services as a producer are in demand by well-known acts: he is currently producing Mick Jagger's next solo album for Atlantic Records.

Mr. Rubin, whose musical background is limited to playing guitar in a high school rock band, says he approaches each project as a fan and spends a lot of time working on minutiae. "I try to hone arrangements and tighten little parts that you might not really hear, particularly the transitions," he says. "That's what makes a song sound like a song." Mr. Rubin seems more interested in finding solutions to technical and artistic problems than in creating a finished work, though he finds much of producing tedious.

"I don't like going to the studio, I don't like going to rehearsals, I don't like going to gigs," he says. "But when you hear something a certain way and think that's the way it should be presented, unfortunately you have to go through those motions to get it. It would be nice to just imagine it and for it to exist."

Just how Mr. Rubin goes about recording an album depends largely on what he feels the artist needs. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who had already recorded several albums, Mr. Rubin rented a house in the Hollywood Hills. It was large enough for both the band and producer to live and record in. "Being as they'd made so many albums, I just thought it would be a nice change of pace instead of going to the studio every day," he says. "We spent the afternoons jamming and it felt very informal. There was a chef there; it really was a fun time."

By contrast, when producing the debut album by the Red Devils, a Los Angeles blues band, Mr. Rubin opted to record them live at King King, the bar where they regularly performed. "I wanted people to get to hear them the way I heard them," says Mr. Rubin. "And it's kind of unusual to do a first LP as a live album."

Mr. Rubin's earliest, and some would argue best, work was done while finding and producing rap acts in New York in the mid-80's. In partnership with the rap-music impresario Russell Simmons, he formed Def Jam Records, which became an unparalleled powerhouse of rap music. Among those Mr. Rubin signed or produced while at Def Jam were L. L. Cool J., the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy; he also produced the group Run-D.M.C. for Profile Records.