Everlast Reflects On Taking Rage Against The Machine On Their First National Tour: “Everyone Was Terrified Of Rage”

Though many casual listeners primarily associate House Of Pain with their massive 1992 hit “Jump Around,” the platinum-certified hip-hop group also played an early role in helping bridge the worlds of rap, metal, and alternative music during the rise of rap-rock in the early 1990s.

In a newly surfaced interview on ‘Rock & Roll High School With Pete Ganbarg,’ Everlast looked back on several key moments from that era — including helping introduce Rage Against The Machine to a wider audience by bringing them out on their very first national tour.

At the time, House Of Pain were experimenting with heavier sounds themselves, most notably through their collaboration with Helmet on “Just Another Victim” from the influential 1993 ‘Judgment Night’ soundtrack. That soundtrack famously paired rap artists with rock and metal bands years before rap-metal exploded into the mainstream.

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Reflecting on the creation of that soundtrack, Everlast admitted he originally expected to have a much larger role overseeing the project creatively:

“I was basically given the whole soundtrack to do by the director. I feel like it was partially the reason I was brought on.”

He also credited House Of Pain member Danny Boy for exposing him to punk and alternative music during that period and for helping inspire the group’s crossover experimentation, including their remix of “Shamrocks And Shenanigans” with producer Butch Vig.

One of the biggest revelations from the interview centered around Rage Against The Machine, whom Everlast says many people in the music industry were hesitant to support early on because of how intense and politically charged the band appeared live.

According to Everlast, he first saw Rage opening for Body Count during the New Music Seminar and immediately recognized the impact they were about to have:

“Everybody was terrified of Rage. I don’t care what anybody says. They were terrified.”

He continued:

“I got there mad early and saw Rage’s set and I left, because I was like ‘Oh sh*t!’ I had to process what I saw. That was pretty powerful the first time you see it.”

Everlast said he quickly contacted his manager afterward while House Of Pain were preparing for their first headlining tour and insisted on bringing Rage out as support despite industry concerns surrounding the band.

“I ain’t scared to take them on tour. Let’s go.”

The rapper recalled watching Rage Against The Machine evolve rapidly over the course of the tour, going from relative unknowns to having entire crowds scream along to “Killing In The Name.”

“Nobody knows this band to like the end, every person in the building was saying, ‘F*ck you I won’t do what you tell me.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God these guys are going to be huge.’”

Everlast also revealed that Rage would often join House Of Pain onstage during the tour to perform the Butch Vig remix version of “Shamrocks And Shenanigans.”

The interview additionally highlighted House Of Pain’s often overlooked influence on the rise of rap-rock and nü-metal. Following the group’s breakup in 1996, turntablist DJ Lethal famously joined Limp Bizkit, while House Of Pain themselves also toured alongside bands such as Biohazard and Korn during the mid-1990s.

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