Jump Around

The Irish diaspora’s contribution to the story of America is well-known, but in the early ‘90s, it was felt in a hitherto untouched area: the great American art-form of hip-hop. The House Of Pain story commenced in the late ‘80s at Taft High School in Los Angeles, where a pupil with Irish roots, Daniel O’Connor, formed the group with Erik Schrody and another local friend, Leor Dimant. Looking for an angle to distinguish them in the ultra-competitive world of west coast hip-hop, House Of Pain leaned into O’Connor’s family background. Irish imagery dominated the band’s artwork and videos and they also talked a good game about Ireland and its legendary fighting spirit. Having signed with celebrated New York hip-hop label Tommy Boy – known for issuing records by the likes of Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul and Coolio – House Of Pain set about recording their debut album late in 1991. Key track on the LP was the rambunctious ‘Jump Around’. Topped off with an anthemic chorus – “So get out of your seat and jump around!” – the song became a major international hit, reaching No.8 in the UK, No.6 in Ireland, and No.3 in the US, where it went platinum. House of Pain had arrived.

The Story Behind The Song

When House of Pain first emerged as contenders, the inevitable question was: what the hell is this all about? While rap had been part of the currency of international popular music since the late 1970s, Ireland had yet to produce a rap group that could compete at the top level internationally. Now, however, out of the US, a new phenomenon had emerged, more or less out of the blue: an Irish-American rap group that were busy taking the US by storm.

House of Pain’s backstory was fascinating. The group had been formed in High School by an Irish-American kid whose name was a giveaway – Daniel O’Connor (aka Danny Boy, so called after the eponymous song) – along with his friends Erik Schrody (Everlast) and another LA local Leor Dimant (DJ Lethal). O’Connor’s forceful personality was central to the decision to look to his Irish roots for a distinguishing feature, in the hugely competitive arena of LA hip-hop at the time.

House of Pain's Everlast, shot for Hot Press by Cathal Dawson

“I was exposed to every conceivable type of culture you can think of and that was a marvellous education,” Danny Boy told Hot Press. “After the family left New York, I used to go back and spend the summers there, so I was aware of the different neighbourhoods and I knew part of me was Irish without having to stand up and wave a flag. You know what they say about being more Irish than the Irish? You walk into a bar in Queen’s and there are people there, I swear, who believe in leprechauns.”

Danny didn’t need to believe in diminutive supernatural men with excessively long beards and a mischievous sense of humour to know in which direction to take his music.

“When Everlast asked me to leave my punk band and start something with him, I said, ‘Yeah, but let’s not do a 3rd Bass and pretend we’re black. We’re white, we’re Irish. Let’s explore that’. That's why other crews respect us – we’re exploring our ancestry, they’re exploring theirs and there are common experiences which unite us. Public Enemy are one of my favourite groups; I mean, I worship those guys, but I can’t rap about Africa and other black stuff because that’s not my culture. Black kids don’t want white kids telling them how to be black, the same way white kids don’t want other white kids telling them how to be black. Go to our shows and you’ll see that the crowd is every colour imaginable. You don't get that with Vanilla Ice, you know what I'm saying?”

From the off, they were a powerhouse of energy and excitement. House of Pain were picked up by Tommy Boy Records, and they released their eponymous debut album in 1992. The album’s signature tune, the blaring ‘Jump Around’, began life as a beat produced by Lawrence Muggerud, aka DJ Muggs, who was to find fame himself soon afterwards, as the sonic mastermind behind Cypress Hill. An old school friend of House Of Pain, Muggs originally offered the track to yet another Taft alumnus, Ice Cube, already a superstar with NWA. Cube turned down the offer, and the tune ended up with House of Pain. Schrody, who performed in the band under the name Everlast, and also claimed Irish-American roots, gave the tune a rowdy punk attitude. Already on his way to being one of the top hip-hop producers of the era, Muggs did an inspired production job, crafting a riotous mix of samples, beats and Celtic folk flourishes.

‘Jump Around’ kicks off with a distinctive horn fanfare, sampled from R&B duo Bob & Earl’s 1963 song ‘Harlem Shuffle’, later covered by The Rolling Stones. Though the track also samples Chubby Checker’s ‘Popeye The Hitchhiker’, its most distinctive feature is a high-pitched squeal that repeats at the start of each bar.

There has been considerable speculation about the origin of the sample, with various sources suggesting that it might come from either Prince’s ‘Gett Off’, or ‘Shoot Your Shot’ by Motown outfit Junior Walker and the Allstars. DJ Muggs, for his part, has kept schtum, except to deny either Prince or Junior Walker as the source.

Starting with the memorable couplet “Pack it up, pack it in/ Let me begin,” Everlast proceeds to fire off a series of verbal broadsides throughout the song. These include “I won’t slack up, punk / You better back up”; and “I’m coming to get ya, I’m coming to get ya / Spitting out lyrics, homey, I’ll wet ya.” Throughout, he is aided by auxiliary vocals from O’Connor, who was now rapping under the name Danny Boy

Speaking about the band’s Irish aesthetic, O’Connor told The Los Angeles Times, it was “a way to establish an identity”. Released on May 5, 1992, ‘Jump Around’ quickly gained heavy MTV rotation thanks to its striking video, filmed at the 1992 New York St. Patrick’s Day parade. As crowds jump around behind him, Everlast addresses the camera wearing a Boston Celtics jersey.

Like the Celtics, House Of Pain utilised kitsch Irish language and imagery in a knowing and playful way, underpinned with a mischievous sense of humour. Aside from the leprechaun costumes and Irish dancers in the ‘Jump Around’ video, the aesthetic found its most popular form in House Of Pain’s shamrock logo, which featured on the sleeves of both the single and the band’s self-titled 1992 debut album. With songs on the record like ‘Top O’ The Morning to Ya’ and ‘Shamrocks and Shenanigans’ you could see that their tongues were planted firmly in their cheeks.

In the early ‘90s, the band’s logo was almost as omnipresent as the song, even appearing as a sticker on Adam Clayton’s bass throughout U2’s Zoo TV tour. ‘Jump Around’ was a global hit, charting, among other territories, in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the US – where it reached No.3 and went platinum, selling over a million copies. It also became a soundtrack perennial, featuring in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Kiss Of Death, Black Hawk Down, Jack Reacher and Rush Hour, to name just a few.

Over the years, ‘Jump Around’ has received numerous accolades. It is a regular on Greatest Songs of the ‘90s lists, with VH1 placing it No.66 and NME at No.47. Q, meanwhile, ranked it at number 580 on its list of the 1001 Best Songs Ever. It has also been widely used in sports, notably, in baseball, by the Detroit Tigers when they hit a home run; and, in American football, by the Wisconsin Badgers.

It has been covered by Vanilla Ice (2008) and by the enormously successful British boxer, rapper, YouTuber and influencer KSI (2016), among others.