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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4+HALF STAR MASTERPIECE, March 31, 2005
With MUGGS gone from the production side of things many thought that this would be a huge dissapointment,.....THEY would have been very very wrong!!! Everlast and Lethal themselves took over full control of that+layed down some phat beats for them to rhyme on. The only downer is Danny boy doesnt appear on any more than 2 joints but when he does he lays down some excellent flows. EVERLAST is at his pinnacle here, delivering some of his best work with the confidence of a true mc. His gruff style was perfectly suited to the bone crunching beats on display here. Along for the ride is COKNI O'DIRE+DIVINE STYLER (Skeme team) who were down with Everlast back in the day. Standouts are the magnificent "fed up", "heart of sorrow", "pass the jinn", "no doubt" and "fed up(remix)" featuring GURU. Another classic in the H.O.P trilogy!!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated Malt Lyrics, April 14, 2005
HOP was the ISH back when i was growing up WHAT and nobody could tell me nadaa bout them. Of course, after the success of their 92 self titled debut, they dropped in popularity and by their third and final LP were virtually ignored. "Truth" is defintely an underrated HIP HOP album and an underrated House album. Muggs vacated the production seat and the SKEME team(Divine Styelr in the house ya'll ) and Everlast create some truly dark, eerie and str8 hardcore tracks. Nothing on this album is billboard material, and that is exactly why it went nowhere with HOP fans. Their loss, cuz it is a banger and I didn't even give it a real listen till Summer 2000. Everlast's gruff vocals are ruffer and rawer than ever, and I remember someone saying he sounded exactly like the rapper NINE, anyone remember him?? Well, the resemblance is close but no cigar, Everlast always had that gruff style... here it is just angrier and more in ya face. As for NINE yeah he kinda became known for his gargling broken glass n gasoline style. Listening to cuts like "Whats that Smell" and "Fed Up" are like listening to an entirely different group. It's evident in the music and lyrics that HOP, specifically Everlast, were FED UP and perhaps pissed that everyone expected them to put out "Jump Around" forever. I think this is the album to listen to if you want to appreciate HOP as a hip hop unit. Sure, their first two joints were hot but this is like the anti-thesis to everything they had previously done. Just that line in "Whats that Smell" speaks volumes...Hey yo what's that smell someone laced DUST all up in ma L!" So Everlast was meditating on the sad state of things in a dusted out PCP haze...classic! One thing that truly is missing is on here is DANNYBOY! The kid got skills straight up, and he never got to shine like Everlast, but I think he has maybe ONE Full 16 on this album, damn he also has to be one of the most underrated cats...never was he a hype man like Flavor Flav( although Foofie Foofie got skills don't sleep ) but it is apparent on this album that House were on the outs, in fact, they disbanded the DAY this dropped in 1996, which makes me think of that line from Eminem's "Girls" dissing Everlast...In 94 Limp opened a show for you, stole the whole show from you, turned around and stole your Fu**ing DJ too! Ahhh so sad, this was made in the after effect of their Limp tour where Lethal was picked up by that red hat wearing guy and friends. Sad Sad indeed. "Truth" is one of the most underrated hip hop albums of the last 10 years, House at their most virulent and stressed out, good to see OTHER production besides MUGGS, who I think is a genuis yeah, but damn he did BOTH their first 2 albums, time to move on baby. In short fans of the ol HOP should own this but if not check it out it's worth a listen, and those who wanna hear Everlast when he was still GOOD should go str8 to this, cuz come 1998 he was riding that country/blues/hip hop/I'm a fat lonely guy wave...NOT good, and not cuz Eminem said so but just NOT GOOD! It'd be nice to see TRUTH RISE AGAIN...if it doesn't we can always go drown our sorrows in a pint of MICKEYS! Oh Danny Boy the pipes the pipes are calling, come on everybody sing with me!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grossly Underrated , November 28, 2006
House of Pain never really received respect within the hip-hop community, and rightfully so. When you think of House of Pain, most rap fans would tell you they're a joke. A 1-hit-wonder if you will. True, maybe. Then again, their release Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again brought me to a very enigmatic conclusion of their existence in the rap game.
When I first bought this album (after listening to the Fed Up Remix), I immediately labeled this album garbage minus a few tracks. After a few years, and a few dozen listens through-and-through, I realized the lost treasure this work of art came to be. After scratching the surface, you really begin to uncover a diamond in the rough.
House of Pain's debut self-titled album was just plain weak. Be honest, it was despite multi-platinum success. Their sophomore release Same As It Ever Was improved their street credibility with harder production and more hip-hop oriented bangers (like Word Is Bond for example). After one highly overrated album (debut release) and a lukewarm follow-up (Same As It Ever Was), I wasn't expecting a sure-shot winner in Truth Crushed, and as explained after my initial listen, I was under the impression House of Pain was finished.
In the end, House of Pain's last and final album Truth Crushed is their highlight of work, no question about it. Everlast is at his pinnacle. Every track found on this album, Everlast is in a world of his own, with a rough flow and flawless delivery. Listening to Ear Drums Pop a few years afterwards brought back the wonderful memories of just how great the man sounded on this album. Danny Boy is only found on spots few and far between, which is for the best. Divine Styler was a solid addition to this album, and the production from Lethal is light years ahead of anything he's ever touched past, present, or future.
Heart Full of Sorrow, Killa Rhyme Kilk, Fed Up, Fed Up Remix, The Have Nots and Earthquake are the album's highlights. A few mediocre tracks hold me back from giving this album the 5 Star classic rating I wish I could award. When you think of other great hip-hop releases around this era, you can't help but wonder how this lost treasure was so easily overlooked.
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~ House of Pain
~ Everlast
~ Everlast
~ Cypress Hill
by House of Pain 
