Rick Rubin Is A Fish Out Of Water In His Old Dorm Room

By Claire Voon

Over three decades have passed since Rick Rubin enrolled at NYU, meaning his dorm room in Weinstein, where he founded Def Jam Recordings, has undergone copious makeovers. Last Friday, Rolling Stone interviewed the 50-year-old record producer, also known as “DJ Double R,” in his old room on the eighth floor, giving us a peek at the birthplace of the label so instrumental in shaping the history of hip-hop. It’s safe to say that “DJ Double R” looks a little out of place in the current resident’s lodgings.

In a photograph shared by the University, the heavily bearded producer perches atop pink kaleidoscopic and baby blue sheets beneath a wall plastered with some freshman’s token memories, perhaps of best friends at high school graduation or cuddly images of a golden retriever puppy. But in 1982, Rubin lived there during his sophomore year and inaugurated the Def Jam company using NYU’s four track recorder, amongst a “swirl of 12-inch records, dirty T-shirts, tennis shoes [and] numerous turntables in various states of disrepair.”

He later became partners with Russell Simons in 1984 after meeting Simmons through multifaceted artist Vincent Gallo, and the pair has since released tracks from LL Cool J., the Beastie Boys, and Run DMC. Rubin himself played guitar in hardcore band Hose, and the group used to perform in present-day Upstein, an image difficult to imagine as the space now houses a Quiznos and a Chick-fil-A.

“It was crazed, almost Charles Manson-like,” Eric Hoffert, lead guitarist of the Speedies and Rubin’s fellow classmate said. “They were pretty awful. And people couldn’t make sense of what he was onto — the fact that he was in this band, and then he’d come back from these hip-hop clubs at night.”

The craziness in those Upstein performances didn’t end there, extending to Rubin’s room, which he shared with filmmaker Adam Dubin who co-directed a couple of Beastie Boys’ music videos, including “Fight For Your Right.” The pair was notorious for throwing bikini contests that involved 150 guests, drunk off vodka, gin, and beer.

Yet it’s hard to imagine girls stripping while Adam Horovitz AKA Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys perhaps poured water on them when there’s a wide-eyed, stuffed dog peeking out from beneath the colorful bed. The legendary raging venue might have lost its insane party spirit, but judging from some photos found online, back in its day it really was pretty damn wild.

[Image via NYU’s Twitter]