Referencing House Of Pain, Busta Rhymes Calms Down With Everlast (Audio)

When Busta Rhymes & Eminem released “Calm Down” this summer, the Bob & Earl sample to set off the record reminded many Heads of House Of Pain. That famous riff from “Harlem Shuffle” helped set the pace for one of the ultimate party Rap records, “Jump Around.”

Bussa Bus knows this. So for “Calm Down 3.0,” the third version of the song that began as a solo set, he invited Everlast to the party. Rather notably, Everlast (who came into Hip-Hop through Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate imprint at Warner Bros./Sire Records back in the late ’80s) replaces Em on this version. Everlast and Eminem had beef, during the Detroit, Michigan superstar’s skyrocketing rise to stardom in the ’90s. At that time, Em ruffled the feathers of previous White rappers, including Marky Mark, Everlast, Vanilla Ice, and others—as well as upsetting his underground Hip-Hop contemporary, Cage. With Ev, it was especially personal, as reports emerged that Slim Shady snubbed the MC at an event, prompting the raspy-voiced MC to take a rugged shot at Eminem’s daughter on a Dilated Peoples remix of the day.

Everlast, who had multi-platinum success as a Rock/Pop soloist following House Of Pain, has returned to his Rap roots. The Los Angeles native who was an early member of La Coka Nostra before leaving, sounds like his skills are fully in tact with over 25 years on the mic.

Related: It’s Hard to Stay Calm When You Read This Lyrical Explosion from Busta Rhymes & Eminem (Lyric Video)