Rick Rubin announces debut book 'The Creative Act: A Way Of Being'

Rick Rubin has announced his debut book, The Creative Act: A Way Of Being.

The acclaimed music producer and Def Jam Records co-founder will publish the title in early 2023, The Guardian reports.

The Creative Act… is said to be a non-fiction title focusing on the process of creativity. “I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art,” Rubin explained in a statement. “Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.”

According to UK publisher Canongate, the upcoming release delves into “the principles of creativity for creators of all kinds, including people in their everyday lives” while offering readers “revelatory insight into the mysterious process of making stuff great”.

An exact release date for The Creative Act: A Way Of Being is yet to be confirmed.

Rubin, 58, co-founded Def Jam Records as a teenager, later teaming up with Russell Simmons. It became one of the most influential labels of all time, releasing music by the likes of LL Cool J, Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.

As a producer, Rubin has earned credits on albums such as Tom Petty‘s ‘Wildflowers’, Run DMC‘s ‘Tougher Than Leather’, Kanye West‘s ‘The Life of Pablo’ and Nine Inch Nails‘ ‘Further Down The Spiral’.

He also has a longstanding working relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers, who he’s reunited with to produce their forthcoming 12th studio record, ‘Unlimited Love’ (out April 1 via Warner Bros).

Rubin’s other recent projects include The Strokes‘ Grammy-winning 2020 album ‘The New Abnormal’, Imagine Dragons‘ ‘Mercury – Act 1’ and Kae Tempest‘s ‘The Book of Traps and Lessons’.

Back in 2020, Def Jam launched a British imprint called 0207 Def Jam.

Last year saw Rick Rubin interview Paul McCartney for the six-part series McCartney 3, 2, 1 – you can read NME’s four-star review here.

Around the time of its release, it was reported that the producer had expanded his film and TV ambitions by signing a new production deal.