You can’t consider yourself a real Juggalo if you haven’t heard by now that Insane Clown Posse will be releasing their 12th studio album, The Mighty Death Pop!, on August 14th, 2012. Of course, with the release of The Mighty Death Pop!, will come a new Joker’s card for all Juggalos and Juggalettes to explore.

The most noteworthy fact about the Mighty Death Pop! Joker’s card so far is that it will be the second card in the second deck of Joker’s cards. However, that being said, it would appear so far that the second deck of Joker’s cards will not be that different than the first deck of cards, because card #1 in deck #2 of Joker’s cards dealt with the same themes known to Juggalos in the first deck of Joker’s cards.

The Dark Carnival (mythology surrounding ICP albums and Joker’s cards) is without a doubt one of a kind. You’d be hard pressed to name five other artists that have designed their own mythology to attract new fans and keep them interested, as ICP has done with Juggalos.

All cards to date, and presumably the Mighty Death Pop! Joker’s card, deal with themes of justice and repercussion for individual actions. ICP’s Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope express these messages in these forms because they know that medium is one which today’s fans will understand.

Music fans of 2012, especially Juggalos, are in no mood to listen to preaching in music or otherwise. However, this clever approach gets Juggalos interested in the band’s message in an obsessive manner. They hope to continue this trend with The Mighty Death Pop!’s Joker’s card, something most Juggalos are salivating over.

The first unique thing to note about Mighty Death Pop!’s Joker’s card is that there are two of them. Yes, The Mighty Death Pop! will be the first ICP album on which Juggalos can enjoy two separate cards.

While the first Mighty Death Pop! card was nothing too unusual (face of an evil Jester), it looks more fierce than its predecessor in Bang! Boom! Pow!’s Joker’s card, a continuous explosion to clear evil souls out of carnival grounds. The Mighty Death Pop! card is more ornate as well, and if you can take that to mean they spent more time on Mighty Death Pop! than Bang! Boom! Pow!, that would be a positive as far as most Juggalos are concerned.

The second Joker’s card revealed for The Mighty Death Pop! is another evil face on a ticking bomb. The unmistakable symbolism here is that Mighty Death Pop! is going to be more intense than previous albums, and probably blow up when it hits stores in August. This kind of tease from a card always gets Juggalos riled up and excited for the next release. Has it done so for you?

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Joker’s cards are one of the most important staples in Juggalos’ appreciation of ICP. To view merchandise containing ICP’s past and present  Joker’s cards, please visit http://hatchetgear.com/bands/icp.html. 

At first, the reason horror rap fans started illegally downloading horror rap tunes from Psychopathic Records artists was because they were free. At the dawn of the download era, this type of temptation was understandable. Why pay for Twiztid’s new album when you can download a Twiztid torrent instead? That was probably the thought process behind many horror rap fans’ decision to do things like download Twiztid torrents illegally.

However, since that wild west phase on the internet more than a decade ago, it’s become apparent that doing things like illegally downloading Twiztid torrents, or torrents of any Psychopathic Records artist, is seriously damaging to that artist’s livelihood. It’s a misconception that musicians like those signed to Psychopathic Records are so wealthy that they can live large without people purchasing their horror rap music.

Yes, these musicians may be better off than you or I, but the fact of the matter is that when you steal music from and Psychopathic Records artist, they start cutting their staff, many of which are essential to their career’s progression.

Imagine that most fans of Psychopathic Records horror rap artist Twiztid started downloading Twiztid torrents for free online instead of buying them through hatchetgear.com, iTunes, or a traditional record store. When Twiztid starts feeling the financial pinch, he might cut his publicist. Without his publicist, he won’t be scoring nearly as many promotional gigs. Without those gigs, people won’t know about his concerts or new work, and eventually he start seeing less money in every aspect of his career.

This type of chain reaction as mentioned in the Twiztid torrent scenario is the reason why many artists have vanished off the face of the earth, including horror rap artists. Just because you’re signed to Psychopathic Records does not mean you’re immune! 

Now that we as a society have had a decade to witness the cycle of artists who’ve fallen victim to things like the Twiztid torrent scenario mentioned above, it’s time we change our actions to better accommodate artists we admire.

There’s some truth to the statement that Psychopathic Records artists wouldn’t have reached nearly the fame they enjoy today without the help of websites that give out things like Twiztid torrents. However, empty fame is less valuable than a smaller group of devoted, paying fans. Horror rap artists everywhere can get behind a sentiment like that.

The moral of the story is to pass up the next opportunity you have to take action on a Twiztid torrent or other Psychopathic Records horror rap artist illegal download. You may not think it will have an immediate impact, but you’re wrong! The last thing any horror rap fan wants is for there to be no more horror rap left to enjoy!

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All musicians, including horror rap artists signed to Psychopathic Records, have felt a financial hit thanks to the internet offering up things like Twiztid torrents for free. To learn more about Twiztid’s albums and purchase them legally, please visit http://www.hatchetgear.com/bands/twiztid.html.

Many students of 90s hip hop could tell you about hip hop super group Psycho Realm off the top of their heads. Those same people would probably tell you, that while Psycho Realm lyrics do not epitomize horror rap values, Psycho Realm’s lyrics had enough influence on Psychopathic Records artists Insane Clown Posse for them to invite their Californian rap pals on tour.

But even though Psycho Realm lyrics to not embody what horror rap is known for, at least as far as Psychopathic Records is concerned, that doesn’t mean Psycho Realm’s couldn’t have had another type of impact on horror rap Gods Insane Clown Posse. And to say that Psycho Realm lyrics did have an impact on these legendary horror rappers would be quite the compliment, because Insane Clown Posse even owns their own label—Psychopathic Records--full of other talented horror rap artists. To say they know what they’re doing would be an understatement.

The similarity of Psycho Realm lyrics and Insane Clown Posse lyrics that sticks out the most to me has nothing to do with their content; instead, the delivery of Psycho Realm’s lyrics and the delivery of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope’s horror rap lyrics are on the same wave length. Both are tight, rhythmic, and dropped with intensity. Listen to Psycho Realm’s lyrics on "Stone Garden" and compare them to Insane Clown Posse’s lyrical delivery on "Hokus Pokus" (released on Great Milenko through Psychopathic Records) and you’ll see what I mean.

So there’s the delivery comparison. And while there may be more to discuss in that realm of things, perhaps there is some overlap when it comes to the substance of Psycho Realm’s lyrics and the meaning of lyrics that come from the mouths of Psychopathic Records artists. Consider this snippet of Psycho Realm lyrics from "Stone Garden":

 

We’re on our way to the stone garden,

End of the road where everybody goes but not forgotten,

Frames all rotten souls travel to unravel,

Other worlds and big cloud castles

Any Juggalo or Juggalette can note similarities in this song and Psychopathic Records’ horror rap music, specifically that of ICP, right away. For one, they’re talking about the after life, and we all know how prominent of a theme Hell and Heaven are in Psychopathic Records songs. ICP even has Joker’s cards dedicated to them. This theme is not only true for ICP, but for other Psychopathic Records artists too.

Secondly, these Psycho Realm lyrics discuss departing souls. Souls that travel happen to be a lyrical staple for Psychopathic Records artists. I don’t know if there’s a closer cousin to ICP’s horror rap mythology about the Dark Carnival, where souls wait in limbo to find out if they’ll be traveling to heaven or hell.

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Psychopathic Records recording artist Insane Clown Posse has many influences that are forgotten to all but hip hop students of the 90s. Psycho Realm is one of those artists. To see if you can hear any similarities in ICP’s music to Psycho Realm’s lyrics, please check out the band’s horror rap offering on http://hatchetgear.com. 

In the days of yester-decade, there was only a handful of places for Juggalos and Juggalettes to enjoy music. Juggalos could listen to the latest ICP CD in their car or at home, and Juggalettes could hear ICP on the same format through a boombox while tanning poolside.

Alternatively, if Juggalos and Juggalettes were in the right place at the right time, they could catch an ICP tune on the radio during their commute or just while out on the town. Finally, Juggalos and Juggalettes could enjoy each other’s company at a live ICP concert, and probably count on getting their fair share of Faygo showers together there!

All of those music enjoyment avenues are still viable, even though a few have fallen by the wayside (radio, CDs). In the year 2012, there are a million different ways to experience the music of Insane Clown Posse, the most inventive of which is through Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel. But more on that later.

I mentioned earlier that CDs and Radio are no longer the foremost avenues of music discovery. That’s because they’ve been taken over by other mediums that are more convenient to Juggalos and Juggalettes alike.

All Juggalos and Juggalettes with an internet connected device (computer, iphone, etc.) can now enjoy Insane Clown Posse’s music through channels like music streaming services (Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark, Pandora), through the band’s website (insaneclownposse.com), or even purchase the band’s songs through the iTunes store. But none of those are as appealing as the Insane Clown Posse YouTube channel.

A website, Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel is always accessible to Juggalos and Juggalettes as long as they are connected to the Internet. That’s standard at this day in age. What Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel does better than the rest of the above mentioned avenues is incorporate video and audio into one central hub. Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel is not just meant for music videos, but audio tracks as well.

Once Juggalettes and Juggalos become adept at using Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel, they can create playlists of their favorite Insane Clown Posse YouTube material and have is stream continuously through their device of their choice.

Considering how much rare Insane Clown Posse YouTube material there is, that could be a pretty epic playlist! Just in case Juggalettes and Juggalos don’t have the time to create their own Insane Clown Posse YouTube playlist, the ICP channel that exists right now has a few of their own up for Juggalo / Juggalette listening pleasure. They include: Music Videos, Spots for Psychopathic Records, ICP / Psychopathic Records, Psychopathic Radio Archive, and JCW Wrestling.

So if you think about it, Juggalettes and Juggalos, if using the Insane Clown Posse YouTube channel correctly, could have their playlist spliced in with some JCW Wrestling footage as well!

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Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube presence grows more important with each new day. This article discusses past ICP listening environments and compares them to Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube presence today. To learn more about visual ICP footage appreciated by Juggalos and Juggalettes, please visit http://hatchetgear.com/bands/icp/. 

It would be understandable for anyone unfamiliar with Twiztid’s albums to assume that he’s a gangster rap artist, just based on his name. After all, there was (and might still be?) a mach-speed rapper named Twista, so the association lends itself. Either way, there are many components of Twiztid’s albums and his overall persona that prove he is a horror rap artist and not a gangster rapper.

Before we even dig into the overarching themes of Twiztid’s albums, let’s take a look at his appearance. How many gangster rap artists do you know who voluntarily don blood (real or fake) on their clothes in press photos? What about gangster rappers who paint their faces white, use clouded contact lenses, or wear their hair in nappy dreadlocks? The answer to that question is 0 gangster rap artists. In fact, every trait mentioned above is a signature horror rap sign.

Several other horror rap artists, whether they appear as guests in Twiztid’s albums or not, are immediately recognizable thanks to these traits. Every horror rapper has black and white face paint of some sort (Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of Insane Clown Posse, Boondox, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, the list goes on…), horror rap artist ABK sports the same kind of hairdo as does Twiztid, and you’ll find the same gory violence in most horror rap videos—the kind that would in turn lead to blood as found in the press photos promoting Twiztid’s albums.

So now that we’ve covered the superficial reasons why the men behind Twiztid’s albums are horrorcore artists and not gangster rappers, let’s move onto the horror rap music itself.

Gangster rap does have similarities with horror rap in the sense that both can be overtly violent. The difference is, gangster rap tends to be violent in a very serious way. Gangs are real and turf wars are real, and as was proven in the mid 90s, rappers are proud enough to back up their threats heard on recordings with confrontations in person.

Horror rap, on the other hand, while ostensibly just as violent, is lacking sincerity in the topic, and that’s a good thing. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, and probably the guys behind Twiztid as well, have always proclaimed the violent lyrics in their horrorcore music to be a joke. Unlike artists known for gangster rap, no one in the horror rap family would go to lengths to make any fantasy killing a reality.

Furthermore, whereas gangster rap artists are constantly fueding with one another, most horrorcore artists show nothing but love for each other. In fact, Juggalos (fans of horrorcore artist ICP) consider each other to be one big family. Such appreciation for each other can be evidenced on Twiztid albums in which many other horrorcore artists appear as guests.

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 Many people incorrectly associate horror rap with gangster rap. This article explains why this assumption is misguided. To learn more about horror rap artist Twiztid and Twiztid’s albums, please visit http://www.hatchetgear.com/bands/twiztid.html. 

Insane Clown Posse music videos, like the video for "Miracles" by ICP, are more or less a thing of the past, just like music videos for all musical artists. Even Psychopathic videos featuring Psychopathic Records artists are a rarity in 2012. The reasons for this occurrence are many, but it’s mainly the factor of a poor music industry economy.

The thing about music videos is that they don’t make any direct money. In extreme cases where a video like "Miracles" by ICP racks of millions of views, a small amount of money is generated from advertisements on YouTube, but even then, the sole purpose of music videos was always and will always be to promote the recorded music in that video.

To their credit, Psychopathic videos have been more abundant (in terms of signed artist-video ratio) in years past than the music videos coming out of other big time labels like Universal and Warner. Is there anyone left on the planet who hasn’t seen the video for "Miracles" by ICP? And in that time span, some truths about Psychopathic videos, small and large, have become impossible to ignore.

The way I see it, there are two main types of Psychopathic videos: serious and funny. Insane Clown Posse videos under the serious persuasion include "Miracles" by ICP, even though the video incidentally was humorously ridiculed across the web. This Insane Clown Posse music video is serious because you can tell by watching it that Shaggy and J are heartfelt in their message. There are no violent gimmicks within, and no cheap shots for laughter.

"Miracles" by ICP is not alone in this category when it comes to other Psychopathic videos. In fact, "We All Fall" by Boondox is arguably the most serious moving picture ever released by Psychopathic video on YouTube.

It’s a fat chance that any Juggalo will ever see an Insane Clown Posse music video as dark and sad as this one by Boondox. Other examples of serious Psychopathic videos include "Last Chance" by ABK, in which he emphasizes the importance of appreciating love ones while they’re still around. After their attempt at a serious video in "Miracles" by ICP, it might be a while before J and Dope release another serious video.

Insane Clown Posse music videos are known to get personal, but they are more known for their gangster rap style and the video characteristics that go along with such. Insane Clown Posse’s music video for "Hokus Pokus", while not as popular as the music video for "Miracles" by ICP, is a good example of the traditional Insane Clown Posse music video put out through Psychopathic video. "Miracles" by ICP is not the norm by any stretch of the imagination.

Traditional 90s rap traits of loitering, bullying and even some vandalism in good fun all make appearances in this Insane Clown Posse music video, though little of it is extremely violent. Similar Psychopathic videos include those like Boondox’s "Inbred Evil" and Blaze’s "Escape Artist."

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"Miracles" by ICP is one of the most popular Insane Clown Posse music videos, but is it similar to other Psychopathic videos? To learn more about  Insane Clown Posse’s music videos like "Miracles" by ICP and feature films, please visit http://hatchetgear.com. 

In a word, yes, but there may be an ounce of truth to their assertion that the Psychopathic Records horror rap veterans aren’t as lively on stage as they once were.  That’s not to say that that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are coming out on stage in wheel chairs, but for the astute ICP ticket buyer and Insane Clown Posse concert observer, there is a slightly noticeable difference in the live ICP of 1994 and the ICP of 2012.

ICP Tickets still sell like hotcakes, Insane Clown Posse concerts are still the best time you’ll have going to any Psychopathic Records artist concert. The vast majority of Insane Clown Posse concerts were sold out in 2011, most Juggalos more than happy to fork over the dollars required for Psychopathic Records artists like ICP’s tickets these days (the average concert ticket for any musical group has increased exponentially since the early 90s, this trend is not isolated to ICP tickets).

As videos of Insane Clown Posse concerts on YouTube will demonstrate, those who buy ICP tickets or tickets to any Psychopathic Records artist concert in 2012 are still in for a treat—the songs are still delivered impeccably, the crowd taunting still hostile, and the on-stage props/sideshows still present. However, the jarring dance movements and swag evident on stage at Insane Clown Posse concerts in years past has now given way to softer choreography that seems less inspired. Also, buying an ICP ticket in 2011 doesn’t guarantee a Faygo shower like it once did. 

However, 2011 was not a year in which ICP tickets were sold for the purpose of promoting a new album. 2012 will differ in that sense, as the guys will be releasing Mighty Death Pop!, their first album in 3 years through Psychopathic Records (the label they own), and any Insane Clown Posse tour dates in support thereof are bound to me the duo’s most energetic in years. Buying an ICP ticket this year would be a smart move, as it will probably be the last time an Insane Clown Posse concert contains the spirit of a new release in the next 4 years or so.

Of course there will be music released from the younger artists on Psychopathic Records, and maybe even some from those artists who are being groomed in the Psychopathic Records subsidiary, Hatchet House, but we all know that Insane Clown Posse concerts are the cream of this crop.

There are no ICP tickets for the Mighty Death Pop! tour available yet, but that’s because the supporting Psychopathic Records artists and dates haven’t even been announced yet. The best way to make sure you see this new material performed live by Insane Clown Posse in concert, then make your way to 2012’s Gathering of the Juggalos where you’ll not only see that, but also performance by numerous other Psychopathic Records artists.

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Insane Clown Posse concerts may not be as energetic as they once were, but things could change this year as the group tours in support of Mighty Death Pop! To learn more about the kinds of merchandise ICP tickets will grant you access to, or merchandise for other Psychopathic Records artists, please visit http://hatchetgear.com. 

Underground hip hop group Dayton Family is often associated with horror rap outfit Insane Clown Posse because they are signed to ICP’s Hatchet House Records. Although Hatchet House is really nothing more than a holding stall for artists Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope think will be the next big thing in underground hip hop, many old Dayton Family fans take this to mean the ICP has faith that Dayton Family will soon be on the top of the charts, and thanks to the support ICP has given them.

While that’s a fair assumption to make in some respects, be careful with the amount of sound similarities you think Dayton Family (traditional underground hip hop) and ICP (horror rap) have. For one, Dayton Family, at least when they were up and coming in the mid 90s, were not a horror rap group. They were a more traditional underground hip hop group whose lyrics touched on themes of survival in an economically challenged environment. There is little talk about the morbid content covered heavily in ICP’s horror rap songs.

For proof, let’s take a look at some examples from one prominent ICP horror rap song and one prominent Dayton Family underground hip hop song.

ICP’s "Chicken Huntin’" Horror Rap:

 

Barrels in your mouth, bullets to your head

The back of your neck’s all over the shed

Boomshacka boom chop chop band

I’m 2 Dope and it ain’t no thang

To cut a chicken, trigger’s clicking

Blow off his head but his feet still kicking

Last as long as you can my man

Cause when that chicken head hits the fan you got

Blood guts fingers and toes

Sitting front row at the chicken show so…

 

As you can see, these lyrics are vile to say the least. Furthermore, it’s pretty obvious that ICP doesn’t expect you to take these horror rap lyrics seriously, they’re plainly meant to be funny and for novelty purposes only. Despite the fact that both Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope come from backgrounds similar to Dayton Family, they choose to make funny horror rap songs in most instances instead of more traditional underground hip hop songs.

Dayton Family’s "F.B.I." Underground Hip Hop:

 

I'm wakin’ up in the mornin’, with problems on my mind

Motherf*ck the education and drug rehabilitation

I'm smokin’ on that weed and the green is getting’ tasty

Dead feds in my closet cause they tried to chase me

 

These are the opening lines to Dayton Family’s "F.B.I.", and the paint a completely different picture than the horror rap lyrics do right off the bat.  With much of underground hip hop’s themes similar to those mentioned above in the Dayton Family song, it would appear that they are not the anomaly, ICP and their horror rap is.

So, to say that underground hip hop group Dayton Family will be the next big thing in horror rap because of ICP taking them under its wing would be misguided. Chances are that, if Dayton Family does regain the momentum it once had, it will be because they’re bringing back the same gritty street lyrics that once made them popular, not because they crossed genres into horror rap.

However, as is the path for an successful artist signed to Hatchet House, if Dayton Family does get their career back on track, they will most likely end up being signed to horror rap record label Psychopathic Records, where every artist as a horror rap artist. None are mainstream underground hip hop like Dayton Family.

Keeping that in mind, it would not shock anyone if Dayton Family and the horror rap heads in charge at Psychopathic found a way to make a hybrid sound by combining both horror rap and the underground hip hop Dayton Family is known for!

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Dayton Family is an underground hip hop group from Flint, Michigan, who is trying to get their career back on track with the help of Psychopathic subsidiary Hatchet House Records. To learn about other underground hip hop artists on Psychopathic Records and those who run it, please visit http://hatchetgear.com.