House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before
lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career. The group's name is a reference to
the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, a reference carried further by the naming
of their 2011 tour "He Who Breaks the Law". The group is best known for its 1992 hit single
"Jump Around", which reached No. 3 in the United States, No. 6 in Ireland and No. 8
in the United Kingdom. The group broke up in 1996 but reformed in 2010, after the trio
had been members of supergroup La Coka Nostra for several years.
Band history Rise to fame
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 House of Pain debut album 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, 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 1993 rock-rap collaborative Judgment Night film soundtrack.
Same As It Ever Was 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 who claimed Irish heritage, "Marky
Mark". 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. Unreleased EP
Sometime between the time after Same As It Ever Was was released and before Truth Crushed
To Earth Shall Rise Again, House of Pain made a demo tape with the following songs on it:
Intro, 3rd Stone From The Sun, Choose Your Poison, Irish Pride, Reaching Out, Same Old
Same, and Womb To The Tomb. Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again
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.
On the release date of the album, Everlast announced his departure from the group.
Split, solo and current affairs From then on, the members continued their
separate careers. Danny Boy founded an art company. DJ Lethal became a member of nu metal
band Limp Bizkit, who would cover "Jump Around" at live concerts, particularly in Limp Bizkit's
early years during the Family Values Tour 1998. Everlast achieved multi-platinum solo
fame in 1998 with his 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. Records, 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 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 newcomer Slaine.
Reunion tours It was officially announced on August 10,
2010, that House of Pain had reunited and performed their first show in a decade at
the second annual Epicenter Music Festival in Fontana, California, on September 25, 2010.
Though Lethal is still a member of the group, he did not join them on their 2011 reunion
tour due to prior obligations with Limp Bizkit. In April–May 2011 House of Pain attended
the Groovin' the Moo touring festival in Australia, and also performed at Scotland's T in the
Park Festival on 9 July 2011, as well as Sonisphere UK Festival on 12 July of the same year.
In popular culture "Jump Around" is used in many television and
cinema productions, and played at many sporting events; such uses of the former include the
1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire, the 1996 film Happy Gilmore, Black Hawk Down, the TV series My
Name Is Earl, American Dad, and Mom. "Top o' The Morning to Ya" is used in Michael
Mann's 1995 film Heat, and the 2003 film Daredevil. The song "Shamrocks and Shenanigans" is used
in the film Airheads. In the 1994 film Clerks, the protagonist,
Dante Hicks, can be seen wearing a House of Pain shirt.
VH1 ranked "Jump Around" 66 on their list of 100 Greatest Hip Hop songs in 2002.
In the 2001 video game, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, the song "I'm a Swing It" was used.
Discography
House of Pain Same as It Ever Was
Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again References
External links House of Pain discography at MusicBrainz
House of Pain biography by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine
House Of Pain/La Coka Nostra discography