What more can be said about the man once known as DJ Double R?! Rick Rubin is the Quincy Jones of music your mother hates! He signed LL Cool J, discovered Public Enemy, DJ’d for the Beastie Boys, produced “It’s Yours” (with Jazzy Jay) for T La Rock and helmed production work for everyone from Jay-Z and Slayer to Mick Jagger and U2. Shit, this dude even portrayed a fictionalised version of himself in 1985’s Krush Groove, a movie loosely based around the beginnings of Def Jam Records.

Def Jam is (without a doubt in my mind) hip hop’s Motown and 2014 marked 30 years since it’s humble beginnings in Rick Rubin’s NYU dorm room. Rolling Stone tagged along as Rick revisits where it all began all those years ago, they also dig up some great archival footage in the process.

Salute to Def Jam Recording’s!