Hose is an " artcore" and garage punk band from the 1980s founded by producer and

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

creator

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popu ...

. Hose's 12-inch EP was the first recording released with the Def Jam logo.

The Founding

Founded in 1981 by guitarist Rick Rubin, bassist Warren Bell, drummer Joel Horne, and lead singer Rick Rosen, this early " artcore" band was often touted as the East Coast's answer to Flipper. The band's slow-paced, blues-influenced sound was mostly designed and produced by Rubin, who embodied the best of the era's DIY attitude that continued on to his later career as a top record producer and rock tastemaker. The first recording was a 12-inch EP (or SLP for "short long play") produced in a dorm activity room with a basic "

boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered throu ...

" and a single microphone. The initial release featured a jacket with Rubin's interpretation of a

Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being o ...

-inspired design that held to his production idea that bass and drums provided structure and guitars and vocals added color to a song. The record mixed originals with slowed-down covers of pop soul tunes like

Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

's " You Sexy Thing", and

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known