When you talk about ’90s pop rap singles that defined the era, then it’s hard to not to mention House of Pain’s 1992 smash hit “Jump Around.”
Produced by DJ Muggs and featuring a prominent sample of Bob & Earl’s 1963 song “Harlem Shuffle” for the intro, “Jump Around” quickly became a huge global hit single. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also charted high around the world. The single has also been certified platinum after moving over a million units.
In a later interview with DJ Muggs, who is best known as the producer for Cypress Hill, he revealed that he initially produced “Jump Around” with his group in mind first. When they passed, Muggs offered it to Ice Cube, who also passed on the beat.
“I came up with the beat for Jump Around right after Cypress Hill’s first album,” Muggs recalled. “But B-Real, our rapper, didn’t want to go back into the studio so quickly. I offered it to Ice Cube but he passed, so I gave it to House of Pain – and it became huge.”
Everlast: The first time I heard it in public, I was in New York at a club. I forget the name of it, but it was on the second floor of a building. That record came on, I swear to God, it couldn’t have been out. It was like a promo. It seemed like everybody in that club knew the record. The floor was wobbling beneath your feet. Everybody was jumping like that. It was crazy.
An Oral History Of House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ | SPIN
