“The sound is totally different than anything I’ve ever done before,” says Everlast aka Erik Schrody, the Irish-American rapper and singer/songwriter about his new album, Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford and that’s saying something for the Grammy-winning artist who has broken ground and sold millions of albums for mixing hip-hop and acoustic-based folk-rock.
"I didn’t approach it differently, I just kind of used a greater variety of instruments, and denser arrangements,” he explains. “Of course, hip-hop remains an important influence on my music, but not everything I do fits under that category.”< The new album, his first since 2004’s Island/Def Jam release White Trash Beautiful, was co-produced by Everlast with his longtime partner Keefus Ciancia (“He’s a real brainiac when it comes to vintage grooves”). Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford is the logical sequel to his 1998 breakthrough, the multi-platinum Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, an eclectic mix of rock, blues, country, pop and hip-hop, which cracked the Billboard Top 20 and sold more than 3 million copies on the strength of its crossover hit, “What It’s Like.” The following year, Everlast earned a Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal Grammy for his collaboration with Carlos Santana, “Put Your Lights On.” Among the many artists with whom he’s collaborated are Madonna, Nice & Smooth, Dilated Peoples, Run DMC, Kurupt, Limp Bizkit, X-Ecutioners, Cypress Hill, Prince Paul, Cee-Lo, Daz Dillinger, KRS-One, Mack 10, KoRn, Prodigy, Mobb Deep and Swollen Members. Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford will come out via management company Three Ring Projects’ innovative deal with [PIAS] Recordings, allowing Everlast unprecedented artistic freedom in the creating and distribution of his music. "I get to do what I want, how I want,” he says. “Now I have the chance to promote the albums the way I see fit. I’m much more adaptable as an individual than a label would be. I don’t want to follow the same old cookie-cutter ways of getting people’s attention Everlast emerged as a member of Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate for his 1990 solo album, Forever Everlasting, then formed the pioneering rap group House of Pain with friends DJ Lethal and Danny Boy. Signed to legendary dance and hip-hop label Tommy Boy Records, the group went multi-platinum with their self-titled 1992 debut which produced the rap anthem, “Jump Around.” Upon the demise of House of Pain, Everlast pursued a solo career, creating the alter ego Whitey Ford for the first album on his own.