Cole Bennett is This Generation's Rick Rubin

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It’s Summer, 1983.

The Beastie Boys are couple girl-crazy high schoolers looking for a DJ to run their next show in lower Manhattan. A friend convinces them he “knows a guy,” and guides them to a random dorm room at NYU. They knock on a door, and someone (scruffy and groggy) answers.

It’s Rick Rubin.

The rest is history.

Beastie Boys with Rick Rubin.

Rick Rubin is arguably one of the greatest musical minds of our day. As the founder of Def Jam Records, he and Russell Simmons put artists like LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, and Run DMC on the map, laying root to New York’s early hip-hop scene.

But Rick is special.

Sure, he’s connected. It’s more than that. His value expands beyond simply having the right “plugs.”

Rick was and is special, because he knows how to be an integrated piece, a natural extension to every artist’s creative mind.

And almost 40 years later, The Rick Rubin Effect is happening all over again.

His name is Cole Bennett.

Cole (left) and Rick (right) back in 2018.

But don’t let the Birkenstocks fool you (btw he already collab'd with them).

Cole Bennett is the hardest working man in entertainment, and he’ll get what he wants because he has the right mind, and (mind)set. He’s proving that anyone who wants something bad enough will find a way to get what they want, especially in an industry controlled by the establishment (AKA legacy labels, agents, and publishing houses).

But things are changing.

If Cole is known for two things, it’s his love for Chicago and hip & hop.

Raised by his single mother in small-town Plano, Illinois, Cole always gravitated towards something bigger than himself. He was drawn to Chicago and its vibrant hip-hop community. There was a unique energy to it in the early 2010s.

In high school, he made a YouTube vlog called Lyrical Lemonade, way for him to share his video work. Cole would drive to the city with his camera and document everything he saw, hopping from show-to-show, filming local artists, and recapping shows with friends for fun.

And he’d even end up at venues witnessing dudes like Chance the Rapper, who were unknown and just getting started at the time with the famous Acid Rap mixtape.

Here’s the first music video he ever uploaded. Keep this in mind visually, so you know how far he’s come as you read on.

Then college came knocking, so Cole enrolled at DePaul University.

But after sitting in countless film classes where professors would tell him it takes “years” to become a successful director/producer, he thought “I can do this.”

So Cole said f*ck it. And dropped out. After one year.

From then on, he started filming artists more seriously, along with hosting local shows for Chi-town’s up-and-coming rap scene.

He just tries shit that no one else would.

Let’s take a step back.

Culturally, the early 2010s represented a shift in hip-hop & rap. Many people call it the “SoundCloud era,” or “emo rap.” It’s where artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Juice WRLD, and Lil Pump got their start. It was all about experimentation, being care-free, and stripped down, moody sounds. Just like everything, it was an underground scene, until it was'n’t.

Those same artists began attracting mainstream attention, and it was apt timing for Cole.

When did Cole launch Lyrical Lemonade? 2013.

It’s tough to attribute or pin-point any one artist who gave Cole his break as a filmmaker. He was simply central to a fast growing SoundCloud movement, so his Come Up was the culmination of many, many little wins that became colossal over time.

You blink, and next thing you know, Cole is filming literally every top Gen Z artist in the game.

The SoundCloud Era is gone, but it doesn’t matter, because Cole works with whoever he wants now.

As a channel for sharing work, YouTube has been a constant, and now TikTok is central to both artist & music discovery.

A music video says a lot about you if you’re an artist. It’s an essential part of one’s brand, and Cole is at the forefront of that cultural shift.

The two videos that emphasized this, putting Lyrical Lemonade on the map, were:

That’s a combined 327+ Million views.

From two videos.

Beyond that, he’s got around 16.5 Million YouTube Subscribers and over 6.7 Million followers on Instagram across his personal page and Lyrical Lemonade’s.

Here’s who “else” he’s worked with:

And he’s only 24. No, that’s not a typo.

Every great artist has their own aesthetic, a signature you know them by.

Cole’s style is distinct. You could pick up on it from afar.

In the same way one knows a Wes Anderson film when one sees it, the same goes for Cole.

Peep these two videos to see what I mean.

In a few years, he’s managed to unconventionally…

Oh, and a $30 Million offer to buy Lyrical Lemonade (and god knows how many more).

But what else could he do?

A lot, actually.

Not that he’s asking for my advice (but if you’re reading this, Cole, let’s talk), but the way things are moving, here’s what I think Cole can build on:

Let’s pause for a sec. This dude is a 24yr/old videographer by trade, who, in a few years, has managed to post a lineup like this AT HIS music festival.

Let that sink in.

c/o Complex.

Sky’s the limit for Cole, and it’s time for us to give him proper credit. He’s no longer a kid with a camera at his hip, over-eagerly shooting everything he sees.

No.

Cole represents the new guard. He’s becoming an entertainment mogul, changing the way we consume content. He’s positioning himself to control the next generation of music business et al.

But only if he wants to. And on his own terms.

Cover photo c/o Thred.