What It's Like by Everlast

"What It's Like" is a song by American musician Everlast. It was released in September 1998 as the lead single from his album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. The song is typical of the style Everlast embraced after leaving hip hop trio House of Pain, being a combination of rock, hip-hop and blues incorporating characterization and empathy towards impoverished protagonists. The song went to number one on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for one week and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. It also peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the singer's only solo top 40 hit on the US chart to date. Outside the United States, the song reached number four in Iceland, number six in Canada and the top 20 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 34 on the UK Singles Chart, while in Australasia, it reached number 26 in Australia and number 31 in New Zealand.