Song:Jump Around
Album:House Of Pain
This very catchy rap song was a top five hit in 1992. Then like a lot of rap acts of that era, House Of Pain were forgotten by the mid-90s. The man behind House Of Pain was rapper Erik "Everlast" Schrody. After recording an unsuccessful 1990 solo album for Warner. Bros. produced by Ice-T, he formed House Of Pain with Leor "DJ Lethal" Dimant and high school buddy Daniel "Danny Boy" O'Connor. The name House Of Pain is from the HG Wells novel The Island Of Dr. Moreau. The idea was to present themselves as Irish hooligans. Schrody and O'Connor were Irish but Dimant was born in Latvia and was Jewish. The 1992 single Jump Around reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everlast wrote it and it was produced by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. The song is based on two samples. The horn fanfare is from the Bob & Earl 1963 classic Harlem Shuffle and the repeated screaming sax is from Junior Walker's Shoot Your Shot. That sax riff is repeated 66 times. The song also samples Popeye (The Hitchhiker) by Chubby Checker. The video was shot during New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade. That got them constant airplay on MTV. The album was certified Platinum. Apparently they behaved like hooligans on tour and Schrody was arrested in 1993 for trying to take a gun through Kennedy Airport in New York. Their 1994 album Same As It Ever Was was certified Gold but there were no hit singles. So the writing was on the wall. It was not unusual for rap groups to end up as one hit wonders. House Of Pain's 1996 CD Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again didn't sell. Everlast went solo and House Of Pain disbanded. The 1992 album House Of Pain is available as a budget CD. Everlast had success with his 1998 single What It's Like and the album Whitey Ford Sings The Blues. DJ Lethal joined Limp Bizkit. Danny Boy was out of music for a while but in 2006 he formed La Coka Nostra with some Everlast and DJ Lethal involvement. House Of Pain have reunited for a couple of tours but they have not recorded. DJ Lethal still tours with Limp Bizkit. House Of Pain doesn't appear to be active right now but La Coka Nostra released a CD in 2016. Everlast will release a new CD in 2017. Here's the video for Jump Around by House Of Pain.
Saw the video on MTV. I thought it was a wild piece to begin with. Hearing the backstory only confirms this. Your right about them being like so many others at the time. In the early 90's there were many acts that came and went with just one hit and then just disappeared. It was a strange time when the music scene was adjusting to whole new tastes and attitudes.
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