It's hare to believe that twelve years ago Everlast (a.k.a. Eric Schrody) and his group House of Pain came out with that monster hit "Jump Around," and led the way for future white rappers to come. In 1998 he came out with his multi-platinum solo smash "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" which spawned big hits such as "What it's Like" and "Ends." After that, we all kinda forgot about Everlast. Even 2000's critically-acclaimed "Eat at Whitey's" (with its single "Black Jesus") seemed to go unnoticed, and Everlast eventually ended up without a label. He then started recording in his home studio, and took the Kid Rock route by becoming heavily influenced by country with his new music. On his third album "White Trash Beautiful", he sings more than he raps, and you can tell that country is the main style featured here. However, he still continues to mix hip-hop into all of the tracks. The CD's first track "Blinded by the Sun" has not only a country-tinged feel to it, but a good use of country lingo. Songs like the cello-laced "Broken" show that Everlast has what it takes to sing a good, soulful ballad. He continues his great knack for ballads on the totally country-inspired songs "This Kind of Lonely" and "Lonely Road". The rap really kicks in on tracks like the groovy, relationship-gone-bad "Sleepin' Alone", and the wild west-flavored "The Warning". "Soul Music" and "Tickin' Away" are also groovy and chill to listen to. There's also the lyrically street-smart "God Wanna" which could be right up there with the some of the roughest gangsta rappers. Everlast also tells a great story with the guitar-flavored hip-hop of "Sad Girl". The best track is probably the hard-hitting "2 Pieces of Drama" which features Cypress Hill's B-Real and manages to mix mellow country into its hard, funky rap. All in all, White Trash Beautiful is a welcoming return for an underrated artist who's style has seemed to have influenced everyone from Kid Rock to Outkast.