Everlast introduced himself to the world on House of Pain's rowdy 1992 smash "Jump Around," a hip-hop classic driven by his rapid-fire verses and streetwise pop culture references. But as a solo artist, the New York-born rapper focuses on evocative folk/hip-hop hybrids full of gritty characters brought down by hard luck and their own bad decisions. On these songs, Everlast drops his tough-guy exterior and turns into an empathetic, conversational storyteller who flips between a gravelly croon ("I Get By"), a country-inflected twang ("Long Time"), and an anguished, bluesy growl (an appearance on Santana's "Put Your Lights On").