What It's Like

"What It's Like"
Single by Everlast
from the album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues
B-side"7 Years"
ReleasedJuly 1998 (1998-07)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:03 (album version)
  • 4:37 (video version)
  • 3:50 (radio edit)
LabelTommy Boy
Songwriter(s)Everlast
Producer(s)Everlast
Everlast singles chronology
"The Rhythm"
(1990) 		"What It's Like"
(1998) 		"Painkillers"
(1998)
Audio sample
"What It's Like"
Music video
What It's Like on YouTube

"What It's Like" is a song by American musician Everlast. It was released in July 1998 as the lead single from his second studio album, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues (1998). The song is typical of the style Everlast embraced after leaving hip hop trio House of Pain, which combines rock, hip-hop and blues while incorporating characterization and empathy towards impoverished protagonists.

The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for one week and on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. It also reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the singer's only solo top-40 hit on the US chart.[6] Outside the United States, the song reached number four in Iceland, number six in Canada, and the top 40 in Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

In September 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Modern Rock Tracks (which by then had been renamed to Alternative Airplay),[7] Billboard published a list of the top 100 most successful songs in the chart's history; "What It's Like" was ranked at number 52.[8]

  1. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (August 29, 1998). "Everlast Tones Down Hip-Hop on Tommy Boy's 'Whitey Ford'" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 35. p. 26. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Tehee, Joshua (September 16, 2015). "Everlast brings hip-hop country rock to Fulton 55". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (October 25, 2000). "Everlast &". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (February 14, 1999). "A B-Boy Changes His Tune, And Life". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Simutis, David (February 11, 1999). "Heart-Attack Man". Broward-Palm Beach New Times. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 213.
  7. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (September 7, 2023). "Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.