House of Pain

Infobox musical artist
Name = House of Pain


Img_capt = Danny Boy, Everlast and DJ Lethal
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Valley Stream, New York
Instrument =
Genre = Hip hop
Years_active = 1992-1996
Label = Tommy Boy Records
Associated_acts = Limp Bizkit
Cypress Hill
La Coka Nostra
Pete Rock
URL =
Current_members = Everlast
Danny Boy
DJ Lethal

House of Pain was an Irish-styled American hip-hop group who released three albums in the early to mid 1990s before lead rapper Everlast decided to pursue his solo career again. The group is best known for its 1992 hit single "Jump Around", which reached #3 in the United States, #6 in Ireland and #8 in the United Kingdom.

Band history

Rise to fame

After a brief unsuccessful solo career, Everlast teamed up with DJ Lethal and high school friend Danny Boy to form House of Pain. The group was signed to Tommy Boy Records, and their eponymous debut album (1992) went multi-platinum, spawning the successful DJ Muggs produced single "Jump Around". This song was also remixed twice by Pete Rock, one version featuring a verse from him and one without. The album also featured Cypress Hill member, B-Real, on the song "Put Your Head Out".

Fashioning themselves as rowdy Irish-American hooligans (Lethal is actually of Latvian heritage), they toured with various rap and alternative-rock bands after their breakthrough. They participated together with Helmet, along with several other rap acts, on the influential 1993 rock-rap collaborative "Judgment Night" movie soundtrack.

econd album and decline in popularity

Their follow-up album, 1994's "Same As It Ever Was", went gold despite minimal airplay and no major hits. The first single, "On Point," is noted for taking a swipe at another American rapper with a strong Irish heritage, "Marky Mark" (Mark Wahlberg) "("Calvin Klein's no friend of mine/So I don't like Marky")". Like Cypress Hill, who, with House of Pain, were a part of the loosely-affiliated Soul Assassins posse, they found urban radio airplay an increasingly closed path, which affected album sales.

Third album

House of Pain abruptly broke up in 1996 after the release of their third album, "Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again", which featured guest appearances by rappers Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Guru of Gang Starr, producer/rapper Divine Styler and reggae singjay Cockni O'Dire (credited as the Scheme Team). On the release date of the album, Everlast announced his departure from the group.

plit, solo and current affairs

From this point on, the status of the group would seem to be in the past tense, though the members would continue their careers separately. Danny Boy would found an art company. DJ Lethal became a member of nu metal band Limp Bizkit, who would cover the famous "Jump Around" at live concerts, particularly in Limp Bizkit's early years during the Family Values Tour 1998. Everlast would finally get multi-platinum solo fame in 1998 with his acoustic rock/blues-inflected album "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" The first single from that album was "What It's Like". In 2000, a feud between Everlast and rapper Eminem coincided with the gold-selling "Eat at Whitey's", which included minor hits "Black Jesus" and "Black Coffee", and featured a collaboration with Carlos Santana. After the sale of the Tommy Boy Records' master tapes to Warner Bros. Music, Everlast signed with Island/Def Jam, and released the solo LP "White Trash Beautiful" in 2004.

Later the same year Rhino Records, a subdivision of Warner Music, released a hit collection, "Shamrocks & Shenanigans", with singles from Everlast's early solo days, the House of Pain and his post-group solo efforts. Before the release, Everlast announced on his official message board that he was not endorsing the compilation album.

Founded by Danny Boy in early 2006, La Coka Nostra is a new project that has reunited him, Everlast and DJ Lethal for the first time since House of Pain's split. Other group members include Ill Bill of Non Phixion, and newcomers Slaine and Big Left.

In popular culture

*"Jump Around" is played at various sporting events in North America, from football to hockey.
*"Jump Around" is used in many television and cinema productions, such as in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire or the tv series My Name Is Earl.
*"Jump Around" was also used in commercials for Strongbow Cider in Australia, Mars Bar in the United Kingdom and for Pringles in the US.
*"Top o' The Morning to Ya" is used in the 2003 film Daredevil when Bullseye made his cameo.
*In 2007, comedian Des Bishop had the lyrics translated into Irish (with the title "Léim thart") when working on the RTÉ series In the Name of the Fada.
*The group was briefly featured on the 2002 VH1 program "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders" in where "Jump Around" got ranked #63 on the list.

Discography

:"For a complete House of Pain discography, see external links."

Albums

ingles

*Jump Around / HOP Anthem (1992)
*Shamrocks & Shenanigans (US) (1992)
*Shamrocks & Shenanigans / Who's The Man (UK) (1992)
*Top O' The Morning To Ya (Remix) (1992)
*Who's The Man? (1993)
*Legend EP (US) (1994)
*On Point (1994)
*Over There (I Don't Care) (1994)
*It Ain't Crime / Word Is Bond (UK, CD 1/2) (1994)
*Legend / It Ain't A Crime (UK, CD 2/2) (1994)
*Word Is Bond / Legend 12" (1995)
*Pass The Jinn (1996)
*Fed Up / Heart Full Of Sorrow feat. Sadat X (1996)
*Fed Up (Remix feat. Guru) (1996)

oundtrack contributions

*"Judgment Night" (1993) -- song with Helmet "Just Another Victim"
*"Who's the Man" (1993) -- song "Who's the Man"
*"Eddie" (1996) -- song "Punch Drunk"
*"" (1996) -- song "Beef Jerky"

External links

* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/house_of_pain/bio.jhtml House of Pain biography by All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine]
* [http://whiteyford.wh.ohost.de/ WHITEY FORD RECORDS] House Of Pain/Everlast news and discography