House of Pain

Rise to fame (1991–1993)

Everlast teamed up with DJ Lethal and high school friend Danny Boy in Los Angeles to form House of Pain. They attended Taft High School. 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" and Funkdoobiest's Son Doobie on 'House and the Rising Son', both members of the musical collective known as Soul Assassins.

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 rap rock 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"). 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.

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 tours (2010–2011)

House of Pain reunited at a private event held by UFC president Dana White in Boston on St. Patrick's Day 2009. It was officially announced on August 10, 2010, that House of Pain had reunited and performed their first "official" 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 July 9, 2011, as well as Sonisphere UK Festival on July 12 of the same year.

In popular culture

Discography