Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin Talk Def Jam History

Noisey is proud to present a special edition of its Back & Forth series, featuring Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. In the episode, which celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the legendary Def Jam Recordings, founders Simmons and Rubin discuss the early days of the label, their first twelve-inch release, LL Cool J’s hit “Radio,” and his involvement with RUN DMC. This is a four part series so sit back, relax, and enjoy a little hip-hop music history in this first episode.