Rick Rubin Quotes

I love Mariah Carey. Remember the breakdown? I loved the breakdown.

When you finish a song, your first thought is going to be, 'Is this song a hit?' I hate that we think that way, because it kind of takes a little bit of the meaning out of the songs that are being written, but you're definitely going to think, 'Can this song be put on the radio?'

We call 'Ain't No Mountain' the golden egg that landed us at Motown.

Avril Lavigne sold a massive amount of albums and she has to top that with her next release. We have four great albums behind us, and it's not going to be as hard to live up to that.

I really like Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj's song, the 'Bang Bang' song. It's the new 'Lady Marmalade.' So good.

I don't ever have the pressure of making a hit, because I've never had a hit song, per se. The closest thing to a hit song was 'Shiraz,' and it's not your prototypical hit song, with a catchy hook and all this other stuff.

'Yeezus,' I really love it. I think the sound of it is cool.

We recorded our first CD, Sixteen Stone, with a small budget and never dreamed that we would enjoy such a high success. It was simply fantastic.

What I really want is a commercial hit. If you're in a hit, you're suddenly a star, whether you acted well or not.

A No. 1 record is hard to come by.

I think I made records, since early on, that people wanted to listen to.

I have to write pretty songs; that's what gets them on the charts.

My goal is a Grammy so my songs will have to be good.

I like Aimee Mann. Her album 'Mental Illness' is so good.

There's gonna be a lot of great songs, but there ain't going to be another 'Trap Queen.'

Never hate a song that's sold a half million copies.

'None of Your Business.' It's the only Salt-N-Pepa song that I regret.

You can tell when you're in a hit.

I've only had one platinum album, and it's 'Red River Blue'.

If you're a pop singer, you don't need to evolve. You just get a set together, have some hit songs and play them over and over.

I take pride in being one of the most successful producers in hip-hop history, having the most successful record in hip-hop history, I have the most number ones.

A Grammy is really nice, but having lots of fans is really nice, too. I think just getting a record out is a success on its own.

Every song I put on a record could be a single and I just pack my bags for it... and the minute it takes off, I'm not gonna be home for a while.

I don't think 'Sugar Man' is a music doc any more than 'The Social Network' is about computers. It just happens to have the best soundtrack ever.

The desire to hit a big home run is dominating the music business.