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.

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.

The third verse changes the angle slightly to focus on the family left behind: "Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of his pain/You know it crumbles that way, at least that's what they say when you play the game/God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news/Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose".

Later they are crowded around a window (possibly dead) behind which an idyllic family is enjoying dinner, oblivious to the less fortunate outside.