House of Pain

This article is about the American hip hop group. For other uses, see House of Pain (disambiguation).

House of Pain
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1991-1996 2010-present
Labels	Tommy Boy Records
Associated acts	La Coka Nostra, Cypress Hill, Limp Bizkit Helmet Korn Funkdoobiest Rage against the machine Biohazard_(band)
Website	www.myspace.com/houseofpain
Members
Everlast Danny Boy DJ Lethal

House of Pain is an Irish American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. 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 #3 in the United States, #6 in Ireland and #8 in the United Kingdom. The group broke up in 1996 but reformed in 2010 as House of Pain, after the trio had been members of supergroup La Coka Nostra for several years.

Band history

Rise to fame (1991-1993)

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 (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 (although Lethal is Latvian American), 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 (1994-1995)

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" (Mark Wahlberg) ("Calvin Klein's no friend of mine/So I don't like Marky").^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again (1996)

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.

Split, solo and current affairs (1997-2009)

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 (2010-present)

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 often played by the stadium or arena sound systems at various sporting events in North America.

• "Jump Around" is used in many television and cinema productions, such as in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire, the 1997 film Happy Gilmore, Black Hawk Down, the TV series My Name Is Earl, American Dad, and in commercials for Strongbow Cider in Australia, Mars Bar in the United Kingdom and for Pringles chips in the US.

• On the 2002 VH1 program 100 Greatest hip hop songs of all time, "Jump Around" was ranked #63.

• "Top o' The Morning to Ya" is used in Michael Mann's 1995 film Heat, and the 2003 film Daredevil when Bullseye made his first appearance.

• The song "Shamrocks and Shenanigans" is used in the film Airheads.

• In 2007, comedian Des Bishop had the lyrics translated "Jump Around" into Irish (with the title "Léim thart") when working on the RTÉ series In the Name of the Fada.

• UFC Fighter Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis uses "Jump Around" as his entrance theme, preceded by a quote from the movie The Boondock Saints.

• "I'm A Swing It" is featured on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 video game.

Discography

Main article: House of Pain discography

• House of Pain (1992)
• Same as It Ever Was (1994)
• Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again (1996)

External links

• House of Pain biography by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine
• Whitey Ford Records - House Of Pain/Everlast news and discography