(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Sun 21 December 2025 15:40, UK
Rick Rubin has never tried to sell himself as someone with limitless musical ability and knowledge; he knows what a good song sounds like and trusts his musical instinct. In that sense, technical ability means little to him; he enjoys how musicians can step into a song rather than the specific elements other musicians might focus on.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to consider whether Rubin might have a different approach to choosing a favourite musician. When guitarists talk about their favourite guitarists, they tend to refer to precise details that make them stand out. The same goes for the likes of vocalists, pianists and drummers.
Rick Rubin has worked on albums that use iconic drumbeats, specifically some heavy-hitting beats that make up the early Jay-Z and Kanye West albums he was such a prominent voice on. He relies on the drums a lot in his music, and in that sense, the drums are one of the instruments that mean the most to him.
With such an affinity for percussion but a likely different approach to what he considers a good drummer, it isn’t easy to guess who his favourite is. Common answers include the likes of Dave Grohl and John Bonham, but that might not be the case with Rick Rubin. Thanks to a recent interview, you no longer need to guess his favourite drummer, as he revealed who he liked the most. The answer might surprise a lot of people.
There are a lot of options for picking the best drummer. John Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame is perhaps the most picked member of the percussion royalty. And, considering how deeply appreciative of the heavy metal band Rubin is, then you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bonzo was the natural pick, but he isn’t. Nor is Keith Moon or Ginger Baker, the other two prime rock candidates. If you thought Rubin might have gone for a jazz alternative like Max Roach or pop icon Hal Blaine, you’d also be wrong. Rubin went off-piste.
The best tastemaker around. (Credits: Far Out / Showtime / YouTube Still)
“There’s a drummer called Chris Dave who’s the best drummer I’ve ever heard,” he said, “No matter what he plays, anything he plays, it’s the greatest thing you’ve ever heard. The simplest thing, he can make anything interesting, just the way he plays it. Not the parts, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to be ‘look at me’, just the touch, the feel, the tone, it’s miraculous.”
This is the kind of praise one might hope to get from one’s own mother, let alone perhaps the most potent tastemaker in pop history. If Rubin takes the time to lavish such praise on your work, then you can be sure that you deserve it.
Rick Rubin put forward no technical ability in describing his favourite drummer; his description borders on indescribable. He talks about the musician’s touch and feel in the same way he has previously spoken about the feel of a song, further cementing Rubin as someone who believes in their intuition and will follow it to the end of the earth.
Upon seeing the comments, Chris Dave shared the post and said, “This is crazy to hear, but humbled by the words.”
Rubin represents the pinnacle of creativity in that you should only think of yourself throughout the creative process, as only you know what you’re thinking. You will likely slip up if you create with someone else in mind. He relies on the feeling a sound gives him, which stems from the song and trickles down into the musician.
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