Everlast Brings the Old School and New School with La Coka Nostra

If you know your hip-hop then you know rapper Everlast was one of the mcs of the group House of Pain. Before Eminem and Asher Roth, Everlast, along with Danny Boy and DJ Lethal were the white kids on the block who dug hip-hop and who could hold their own when it came to droppin' beats and rhymes. The group scored a major hit in 1992 with the tune "Jump Around" but could not keep their "house" in order. The group broke up in 1996 with DJ Lethal joining Limp Bizkit and Everlast re-inventing himself as a hip-hop acoustic performer known as Whitey Ford. The original members of House of Pain are back as La Coka Nostra. The Nostra family also includes rappers Ill Bill and Slaine. The group's debut disc "A Brand You Can Trust" is out now. While preparing to get down with his crew at the LA stop on the Rock the Bells tour, Everlast decided to chat with me about his new crew, his old crew and how things have been on tour.

Associated Content: How did you put this group together? How did La Coka Nostra come about?

Everlast: Ill Bill and I have known each other for a while and Danny Boy and I remained friends after House of Pain. We kept in touch, and we were always in touch with Lethal...we got together with Bill and Slaine and we had some stuff brewin'. We started putting stuff out on the internet and our fans dug it! People wanted to hear more of the stuff we were coming up with so we decided to do it for real. I think people just wanted to hear something different.

AC: So the House of Pain crew has been in contact since the break up in '96?

Everlast: I have always had love for Danny Boy and Lethal...never been any bad blood...we kept in touch and we have hung with each other off and on over the years.

AC: You are on the Rock the Bells tour which features some great hip-hop acts that represent the old school and new school/indie hip-hop. Who have you been excited to see on this tour?

Everlast: Hands down KRS-ONE is still the best. I mean he is still the teacher! Nas and Damien Marley have been killin' it on this tour and I am looking forward to seeing Ice-Cube in LA.

AC: "Jump Around" was a massive hit and still gets tons of airplay today. Sometimes a song like that can be a blessing as well as a curse. What has the song become for you?

Everlast: You know when I first started my solo thing...the whole Whitey Ford thing. When I first had that going on I hated that tune! That's all people wanted to hear! I mean at the time I was trying something different but folks really wanted to hear that song. Now I am better about it...I mean everybody knows it and loves it...old people, young people...everybody seems to like it and that's cool.

AC: After Rock the Bells what's next for La Coka Nostra and House of Pain?

Everlast: The priority is La Coka Nostra. We are gonna try and do some shows and House of Pain will also be doing a couple of shows here and there.