Experience the Dark Carnival with Insane Clown Posse Albums
Is it right to call Insane Clown Posse merch and albums weird? After all, this is a tandem that has been around for roughly 25 years or so and has reached a respected status. The truth is that the two rappers who make up ICP probably want to be called weird and uncanny. By all appearances, the name alone shows just how much they love the craziness of it all.
The current masters behind ICP are long time friends Joseph Utsler and Joseph Bruce. To complete their unusual duo persona, they come out on stage as impious clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Today, any music expert would recognize ICP and their unique brand of rap music. They did not however start out on the musical path that they are now on. Utsler and Bruce were actually already together in the 80s when they got together with some of their friends who loved wrestling and created the JJ Boys.
The JJ Boys did not have any grand plans for breaking out into the music scene and selling records in a band store. Their second group, Inner City Posse, which was at first a gang, was more promising. Unfortunately their gang activities put Bruce in trouble. To try to keep away from the bad side of the law, Bruce turned to wrestling where he tried to make a name. The backroom politics of wrestling however proved too much for Bruce to handle. This pushed him back into the arms of hip hop.
In the 90s, the once Inner City Posse gang became a stage performing act. Bruce, Utsler and his brother John performed under their own Psychopathic Records. Ultimately though, they saw that they would never prosper with just gangsta rap. Too many rappers and acts were trying to get into it too.
It was this attempt to avoid floundering in an already saturated genre that the idea for an Insane Clown Posse album started to form. The duo took on a new approach to rap by zeroing in on the unusual genre of horror and the supernatural. They made their musical direction even more unusual by specifying a carnival theme to their personas. After brainstorming, they settled on their present name.
Their debut work Carnival of Carnage was released in 1992. Before it could even pick up steam though, John Utsler was already out the door. Even without him though, this initial release was met positively. This created a good starting point for the eventual release of Ringmaster.
What truly created the biggest break for the group was The Great Milenko which came out in 1996. This was originally under the label Hollywood Records but the music company pulled out support for the tandem and their album after receiving criticism. PolyGram Records later took on the album for a second release and this time it reached platinum status.
The success prompted Bruce and Utsler to make a bid for the mainstream. To get more respect for their act, they contacted popular rappers like Snoop Dogg and Ol’ Dirty Bastard and invited them to participate in the Amazing Jeckel Brothers. The album is also platinum.
From troubled beginnings, ICP is now at the top of its game boosted by a loyal fan base of Juggalos and Jugalettes probably sporting part carnival part goth clothing. Of course, there are still those occasional problems with the law but Insane Clown Posse albums don’t seem to be losing their appeal. It all must be because of the unique direction the pair has taken.
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