Personnel includes: Everlast (vocals, guitar); N'Dea Davenport, Cee-Lo, Merry Clayton (vocals); Carlos Santana (guitar); Miles Tackett (cello); Keefus Ciancia, Victor Rice (bass); B-Real, Rahzel, Kurupt, John Bigham, Larry Ciancia, Patrick Freitas, Chris Thomas.

Producers: The Stimulated Dummies, John Gamble, Dante Ross, Everlast.

Recorded at SD Studios, New York, New York.

For the follow-up to his breakthrough solo album WHITEY FORD SINGS THE BLUES, the former House Of Pain member continues solidifying the bridge between the worlds of rock and rap. This time out, Everlast revisits his hip-hop roots with a vengeance by loading up this 13-track opus up with plenty of jeep-worthy beats and matter-of-fact, lyrical flow. Setting the pace early on is the minute-and-a-half opening track "Whitey," which finds the gruff-sounding Irishman reasserting his lyrical prowess over a zig-zagging cello.

Menacing strings make an appearance on dark inner city tales like "Deadly Assassins" (featuring Cypress Hill's B-Real) and "Graves to Dig," a slow-rolling eulogy to all those cut down by gunfire in their prime. Everlast is at his best spewing out narratives, as on the ultra-funky "Children's Story," a duet with The Roots' Rahzel which tells of the tragic meeting between a strapped teen and an undercover cop. Not everything in this sumptuous banquet of beats is so grim, however; the tattooed rapper shows his soft side by featuring former Brand New Heavies vocalist N'Dea Davenport on the introspective funk of "One and the Same" and the romantic lament "Love For Real."

What the critics say...

Rolling Stone (10/26/00, pp.107-8) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Stays ahead of the game...he is older and wiser enough to keep expanding his moral vision along with his musical confidence..."
Spin (11/00, pp.195-6) - 7 out of 10 - "...A far more sonically consistent and textured work [than WHITEY FORD], cushioned in Americana, drenched with soul..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/20/00, p.78) - "...An eclectic, intermittently rewarding album of first-rate re-creations..." - Rating: B
Vibe (11/00, p.162) - 3.5 discs out of 5 - "...A fierce, gritty, and heartsick album....Older and wiser but still a baddass, Everlast definitely has seen some pain, and, lucky for us, lived to tell a stirring tale."
Melody Maker (10/24/00, p.60) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...One of the lo-fi hip-hop albums of the year...akin to the wood'n'wire hip-hop adventurism of The Roots and Slum Village..."
Mojo (Publisher) (11/00, p.102) - "...Welds slow-burning hip-hop beats to politically astute lyrics...with a wealth of prestigious guest stars..."
NME (Magazine) (11/4/00, p.48) - 7 out of 10 - "...An inventively arranged mixture of blues, hip-hop, strings, folk and metal..."