House of Pain: Hip-Hop’s Most Mislabeled “One Hit Wonders” Celebrate 25 Years of “Jump Around” 

House of Pain: Hip-Hop’s Most Mislabeled “One Hit Wonders” Celebrate 25 Years of “Jump Around”

In the spring of 1992 Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by filming the video for their debut single “Jump Around” at NYC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The song quickly became an anthem with every demographic from B-Boys to Frat Boys and the iconic video perfectly showcased HOP’s Irish heritage and “Hoods & Hooligans” (the name of the band’s fan club) aesthetic.

A quarter century later, the song is still a certified banger that ignites dance floors from Bar Mitzvahs to bachelor parties and sporting events to weddings as much as any early 90’s classic.  Following the release of “Jump Around” the band released several collaborative and solo projects that have been both commercially and critically successful, yet somehow continue to get incorrectly labeled as a “one hit wonder.”  Let’s take a brief look at House of Pain’s illustrious quarter century in the music business and see how much quality material this “one hit” actually spawned…

1992: House of Pain release “Jump Around” and their self-titled debut album, both go multi-platinum (several million copies sold).

1993: House of Pain releases the title track to the film Who’s The Man? The soundtrack also marked the major label debut of a young Notorious BIG.

1994: House of Pain release their sophomore album Same As It Ever Was to positive reviews and gold album sales (500,000 copies).

1996: House of Pain release their third and final group album Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again to critical acclaim despite the group disbanding on the day the record is released.

1998: Everlast releases his solo album Whitey Ford Sings The Blues and the single “What It’s Like” both are massive critical and commercial hits and the new musical direction results in six albums, multiple Grammy nominations, collaborations with legends like Carlos Santana and a touring career that is still going strong today.

Late ’90s: DJ Lethal joins nu-metal band Limp Bizkit and proceeds to sell over 40 Million records as a member of the rap-rock band.

Late 90’s/Early 2000’s: Danny Boy continues to work in art and design (he designed all of HOP’s logos and branding) and remains a force in the art and streetwear worlds.

2000: Everlast releases Whitey’s Revenge aimed at Eminem. The song is widely accepted as one of the best Slim Shady diss tracks of all time.

2000’s: All three members remain successful in their new endeavors, HOP’s music is used in movies, TV Shows and video games and the band’s influence on a new generation of rappers and rabid fan base becomes apparent on social media.

2009: All three original members are joined by underground rappers Ill Bill and Slaine to form La Coka Nostra.  The collective releases three well received albums and continues to tour extensively.

2010: Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal reunite and tour as House of Pain for a string of St. Patrick’s Day concerts and summer festivals.

2010’s: All three members have continued solo success with various projects while re-uniting every spring for St. Paddy’s Day events.

2017: Everlast forms “War Porn Industries” with Sick Jacken and Divine Styler for a politically charged self-titled album that is immediately embraced by critics and lifelong House of Pain Fans.

Every genre of music has artists that are unfairly relegated to the “One Hit Wonder” or “Where Are They Now?” status by mainstream fans/media, when in reality their “One Hit” is just the tip of the iceberg for their career and legacy.  This St. Patrick’s Day House of Pain’s “Jump Around” will undoubtedly bring parades, bar crawls and house parties to another level, but while you are rapping along with Everlast’s classic verses, take a second to acknowledge the group’s quarter-century worth of contributions to music and when you get home check out some of their incredible discography.

Join The Pop-Break’s staff at the Shamrocks & Shillelaghs Fest in Asbury Park’s Convention Hall for food, drinks and music by some of the Jersey Shore’s best bands possibly performing cover versions of “Jump Around.” 

More info and tickets are available here…

https://www.facebook.com/events/176358332855264/

Angelo Gingerelli is a staff writer at The Pop Break, unabashed Hip-Hop Head and defender of all mislabeled “One Hit Wonders.”  He owns multiple House of Pain albums on cassette tape, more than one article of clothing with the words “Fine Malt Lyrics” and has seen some iteration of HOP/Everlast/La Coka Nostra in concert five times.