Two music pioneers square off in this special edition of Noisey's Back & Forth series focused on the 30th Anniversary of the legendary Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam founders Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, with the aid of the great Elliott Wilson, talk about the early days of the label, their first twelve-inch release, LL Cool J's hit "Radio," and LL Cool J's involvement with Run-D.M.C. in this clip, available via Noisey for the first time.

Check out the Back & Forth Playlist: http://bit.ly/OBa3Kz

Celebrate three decades of the goliath that is Def Jam Recordings at their anniversary bash, set to take place on October 16th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Look for appearances ranging from Rick Ross to 2 Chainz to EPMD to Ja Rule to Jeremih.