If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you'll notice that after mentioning him in my review for the classic All We Got Iz Us by your favorite baldhead loons Onyx, I never really talk about Eminem here. I just don't see the need to, as this is a blog discussing boom bap, not whatever the hell he's into nowadays. However, it is my honest opinion that it's the genre that suits his wordy style the most. Just listen to Don't Front, his cover of Black Moon's I Got Cha Opin. Right? You'll also notice that I haven't been very productive here in recent times. I'd be lying if I didn't say that the lack of comments wasn't one of the reasons for such a slowdown, even if it definitely isn't the chief reason. Bottom line, I like to engage with anyone reading these ramblings of mine, so if you're feeling like some of the shit you're reading sounds baffling, sound off. It really helps.
I bring him up today because of his storied history of lyrical beef, almost every one of which he came out on top. Not to discuss how he won, but to discuss how he views his opponents today. Almost every one of his past adversaries still views him as such, except for two that come to mind. One act was the Insane Clown Posse, a duo of rappers/wrestlers appealing to a mostly working-class white fanbase. (Credit to them for creating a surprisingly sizable movement around their brand.) The other is one-third of our focus for today.
Erik Francis Schrody aka Whitey Ford bka rapper/actor/guitarist/activist/anarchist Everlast was a teenage graffiti writer who eventually met Mark Richardson aka Mikal Safiyullah bka underground legendary MC Divine Styler on the graffiti scene in LA, who just so happened to be an associate of hip hop pioneer Ice-T. Being from NY, Divine Styler was well-versed in the graffiti scene and took Everlast under his wing. During that period, it eventually came to light that Everlast dabbled in rhyming as well, with a demo that was eventually well-received by Ice-T himself. Ice then insisted on bringing the new whiteboy into his then-burgeoning rap collective the Rhyme Syndicate. Naturally, an album deal from Warner Bros. Records followed, resulting in Everlast dropping his solo debut Forever Everlasting. Which... yeah, it flopped hard. Despite housing a batch of decent tracks, it came off exactly as it seems at first glance: A white kid tryna trend hop. Everlast himself is actually extremely happy it flopped now. Hard to blame him, as it wouldn't've been fun to be Vanilla Ice, at all. Thankfully, he reconnected with a childhood friend immediately thereafter.
Daniel O'Connor bka Danny Boy was a graffiti artist who originally hailed from New York and was quickly developing as a graphic genius when he got wind that his boy Everlast didn't really get on with his Rhyme Syndicate deal. After reconnecting, D showed E a few concepts he was developing for a hip hop group. An old demo with 'House of Pain' written thereon caught E's eye, to which he suggested their younger friend Leor Dimant nka DJ Lethal as their DJ. Danny immediately developed the aesthetic behind the group: A no-nonsense trio of Irish hooligans who loved brawling, drinking & hip hop. (Despite Lethal being Polish, he went all in on the idea.) All this was prior to the most integral coincidence in this story, tying together all this rambling with my Soul Assassins run.
Apparently, E was dating a girl back then whose fucking roommate was with a then-unknown DJ/producer by the name of DJ Muggs, later of the epic Cypress Hill. Muggs had just finished working on his crew's eponymous debut when he became fast friends with E almost a year before it dropped. Shortly thereafter, E met yet another Cypress general, the mighty B-Real, and spent the entire night freestyling with the crew. That same night, Muggs played the entire debut album for everyone. Needless to say, Erik was blown away. B then jumped into Muggs' ear, egging him on to work with E after being thoroughly impressed with his pen game. The very next day, Muggs calls E, invites him to the studio, and upon his arrival, gives him a tape containing just two beats previously rejected by West Coast lyrical warlord and current Big 3 owner Ice Cube. One of those beats was Jump Around.
Now let's talk about Robin motherfucking Williams.
By the time I came across his stellar work, he had already established himself as an absolute powerhouse in both comedy and drama. However, the sheer volume of iconic roles he played in the 90s is nothing short of transcendent. One of those unforgettable roles was Daniel Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire: A down-on-his-luck voice actor who is willing to do anything to spend time with his children. Now, just imagine the impact of that scene where Daniel & his son were dancing on that table on a prepubescent mind (One completely smitten with Lisa Jakub, might I add). A splendid visualization of the chaos that Jump Around ensues has not been portrayed so well since. Once Robin nailed that scene, it was all over for me: I HAD to hear more of that song. Unfortunately, I was still in elementary then so no dice for me. RIP Robin Williams. Your absence still hurts.
Back to Jump Around & its creators for a bit: Everlast used the tape Muggs gave him and made a demo tape housing the final cut of Jump Around for his new House of Pain venture and, within a mere week, there was a gargantuan bidding war for this hot, new rowdy Irish hip hop group with a smacking song. Out of all the offers on the table, House of Pain went with Tommy Boy, best known for acts such as Queen Latifah, De La Soul & Naughty By Nature. During the proceedings, Cypress Hill & House of Pain became even more involved with each other, and with a third budding hip hop group called Funkdoobiest, DJ Muggs officially formed the Soul Assassins collective, thereby setting the stage for further collaborations within the three camps.
After Cypress Hill's debut became an underground smash in LA, Muggs took DJ Lethal under his wing and molded him into a producer for House of Pain as they set up crafting the debut LP, the title of which the internet can't make up its mind about. Fuck it, I'm calling it Fine Malt Lyrics.
Naturally, Jump Around was chosen to be the lead single. What's weird is that it took three months to finally click with everyone and sell five hundred thousand units, a whole two months after the release of the actual album. Once it hit, though, it was unstoppable, completing the millionth sale just a month further, which propelled Fine Malt Lyrics to gradually sell one million units over the three months following that achievement. This obviously means that many people have very nostalgic feelings toward this piece of work, myself included. It was one of the very first hip hop albums I listened to in its entirety.
Time to see if it holds up. Fine Malt Lyrics, boy/girl (pick one):
SALUTATIONS
Rap album intro. You know you just wanna skip to the next one.
JUMP AROUND
Absolutely essential move that House of Pain opened up their album with this song! Why don't more rap acts do this? Yeah, if you've been literally living under a rock for the past 26 years, this song is one of my handful of favorite mainstream HIP HOP songs. Everlast just tees off on DJ Muggs' exemplary beat with battle lyrics that remain his most popular lines, with one of the most memorable performances in hip hop history. The magic ingredient Muggs added to make this beat, which starts off with a beautifully fitting Bob & Earl excerpt, was an ingeniously handpicked Jr. Walker horn sample and an equally-mindblowing Chubby Checker sample masterfully slowed down, interwoven in a way that renders producers speechless. According to Muggs and E, this song was made way before Jermaine Dupri cultivated the idea for Kriss Kross. Their proof? Muggs played Jump Around for Ruffhouse with the intent of signing House of Pain to the same label they were at. Ruffhouse passes on the deal, then miraculously Kriss Kross puts out Jump on Ruffhouse. That's why you hear Everlast dissing a Ruffhouse A&R/producer by the name of Joe Nicolo aka The Butcher at the end of the song, where he calls him The Biter. Bottom line? Put this song up against any timeless hip hop classic. I dare ya.
PUT YOUR HEAD OUT (FEATURING B-REAL)
From the most popular DJ Muggs production ever to one of his most underrated. A grimy-ass beat immediately attacks your senses, in what can be traced as the beginning of DJ Muggs' transition into macabre production territory. Everlast and B-Real are having noticeable fun with Muggs' work as E bookends B's contribution with two verses loaded with BNB: boasts n bullshit. However, it's B who really shines here with his mastery of flow & quotables in full display to the listener as he eviscerates his end of the deal. This was the second beat on the tape Muggs gave E as well as the very first song House Of Pain ever recorded, by the way. Two songs in and you can see why Tommy Boy were so eager to sign these dudes.
TOP O' THE MORNING TO YA
DJ Muggs finally relinquishes his grip over production duties to DJ Lethal, who debuts with a Staples excerpt that leads into a ferociously playful Willie Dixon mesh. Everlast gives three verses that decrease in bar quantity with each verse, with the first being one of his many standouts throughout the LP and the last being a measly four bars. Danny Boy surprises everyone with his rhyming debut on this song, and I'll say this: He may be limited, but at least he's giving it his all. Plus, I like the Malt-O-Meal reference. Brings back the fuzzies, you know. You'll have a lot of fun with this.
COMMERCIAL 1
A soundbite from the 1977 adaptation of HG Wells' The Island Of Dr. Moreau, no more.
HOUSE AND THE RISING SON (FEATURING SON DOOBIE)
DJ Lethal delivers a beat that is as mellow as it's gonna get for a group called House of Pain. And Everlast and fellow Soul Assassins OG Son Doobie from Funkdoobiest get their shit-talking on, proper. This is the very first time I ever heard Son Doobie and something about his tone of delivery struck me: He has a very meaningful voice that can be utilized quite effectively from time to time. Overall, this shit will also be a good time.
SHAMROCKS AND SHENANIGANS
Over a DJ Lethal instrumental dominated by John Lee Hooker samples, E & D take turns bashing the comp, and despite the sometimes-simplistic schemes, you're sold every step of the way simply because you hear how much fun these two are having. Which seems to be a consistent theme on this album. Awesome song.
HOUSE OF PAIN ANTHEM
Once again DJ Lethal centers his entire beat around an act of his choosing, this time being jazz rock band Chase. The result is a menacing-ass beat that's absolutely perfect for splattering threats aimed at imaginary opponents. By now, it's pretty much established that you're not getting more than 16 bars outta Danny Boy due to him receding lead rapper duties to Everlast, who reminds you with his first verse that he can get down and dirty with his battle raps if need be. The overall track isn't as fun-loving as the previous three songs, but it still fits the overarching aesthetic nicely. Well done.
DANNY BOY, DANNY BOY
And we're back to party mode. Matter of fact, this song is by far one of the two most fun on the entire record. Just so happens that this mood switch coincides with DJ Muggs' return behind the boards, once again throwing a myriad of samples at you. E & D are infectious in their back & forth. Too bad the whole song lasts just under two minutes. Still, a banging ass good time, nonetheless.
GUESS WHO'S BACK
Everlast continues his mission to blow your mind away with his punchlines, and while they're not really the mind-blowing type, I must emphasize the value of enjoying your work because songs like these really reflect positively on the listener. Guess Who's Back is no different as E goes for dolo with three verses pack to the brim with talking shit over Muggs' equally-enjoyable beat made from an Albert King/Paul Butterfield hybrid. Nice!
COMMERCIAL 2
See Commercial 1...
PUT ON YOUR SHIT KICKERS
DJ Muggs returns with another sample-heavy beat for the other most fun song on this album. You notice that the fun factor mostly goes up when Danny Boy's in the picture, as demonstrated to great effect here. Personally, I crack up every time I hear D singing the Missouri Dawg song. This album is awesome, so far!
COME AND GET SOME OF THIS
Everlast is alone again. It's fine, though. He already proved numerous times on this album that he can carry a solo track on his own. You'll enjoy the one-liners here, as you did the rest of this album. However, behind the boards is the better spectacle, as the beat is a tag team between Muggs and longtime Soul Assassins member DJ Ralph M from Funkdoobiest. As such, the beat sound uniform of what was expected from the crew at the time, which is intended as a high compliment. Good shit.
LIFE GOES ON
Whoa. The fun factor just returned big time! All due to the infectious beat by DJ Ralph M. Everlast's lyrics are your typical course of BNB mixed with some simple theological explorations of the NOI randomly thrown in, which comes off as Everlast spitting these lyrics while baked outta his goddamn mind and thereby only adding to the accidental hilarity. His delivery of said lyrics is the icing on the cake.
ONE FOR THE ROAD
I'm telling you, you can literally hear Everlast enjoying the hell outta recording his lyrics. Here, he clearly revels in his glee whilst performing the entertainingly childish hook paying tribute to Mickey's beer while DJ Lethal, returning from quite the rest period, supplies his mans with his equally playful instrumental, sampling Jr Walker among others. The streak of hot tracks continues!
FEEL IT
This may be the most blood pumping beat on the entire album besides Jump Around and Put Your Head Out, courtesy of a DJ Ralph M bowing out of Fine Malt Lyrics. Everlast relishes in the opportunity to lace the resulting instrumental with a portion of his seemingly-infinite book of talking shit. Love this song!
ALL MY LOVE
This isn't really a full-blown song as it is an outro that happens to house a singular uneventful verse. The shoutouts, though... It appears RZA has finally been dethroned as the king of hip hop shoutout tantrums. You only need to listen to this once, but I guarantee you'll be entertained, par the course.
JUMP AROUND (PETE ROCK REMIX)
Pete, you know I love you. It's well-documented on this blog how vital I think you are to the game. Hell, this remix is not too shabby at all. But, I'm sorry: You ain't fucking with the original on this one, bruh.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You know, as much as I love messages and positivity in my hip hop, I can also appreciate music that I can have a roaring good time to. Y'know, goof off and shit. I distinctly remember my Knucklehedz review and how I described them as the East Coast's answer to House of Pain. Now you know what I'm talking about. I'd call this album a damn fine dose of harmless troublemaker boom bap with some damn fine beats and brags. DJ Muggs makes sure that him, DJ Lethal and DJ Ralph M maintain a consistency throughout the album that never falters in what can be considered as the first album establishing the Soul Assassins production brand, and Everlast and Danny Boy deliver spectacularly on the vibes front: You are never left with the assumption that these dudes are fronting to be something they're not, and I've always appreciated that. Plus again, the brand of Soul Assassins MCs may be best represented here, as the lead MCs of all three affiliated camps are displayed here. Now, hand me that stool, please. I'd like to smash it on the head of Pitchfork's Jeff Weiss.
WORTH IT? If you hate fun and good times, then stay away from this album. If you like Jump Around, then get this album ASAP. (Because I know a shit ton of people whose exposure to House of Pain is exclusively limited to Jump Around. Yes, I'm talking about you.)
Are you a Soul Assassins follower? You are? Knock yourself out! If you just wanna see what else the Jump Around dudes did with their life, here.
