Insane Clown Posse Albums- When Fun and Bizarre Meet
For a music group that has been around for more than two decades, it seems unfair to continually refer to Insane Clown Posse merch and albums as bizarre. That is however, unless the group itself openly declares its preference for the label. As the group’s name implies, they seem to love all the insanity attached to them.
ICP is presently made up of two Josephs, Bruce and Utsler. On stage, these two swap their real names for alter egos. They rap as two bad clowns Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. The group enjoys an international reputation but they did not begin to rap under their popular personas until much later. The two formed their first group JJ Boys in the 80s together with some friends who shared an interest in wrestling.
The JJ Boys did not have any grand plans for breaking out into the music scene or selling albums 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.
The aptly named Carnival of Carnage was released in 1992. This wasn’t completely a happy event though because before the album took flight, John Utsler left the group. Nonetheless, the album was still well received. Their second release Ringmaster was even more acclaimed and got gold status for itself.
It was however, The Great Milenko, first released in 1996 under Hollywood Records that began to truly define international stardom for the group. Although the label recalled the release, it was released again under PolyGram Records and became certified platinum.
From their first success, the tandem began to work towards gaining greater respect for their act. They thought they’d be able to do this by asking established rappers to perform some tracks for their album Amazing Jeckel Brothers. Snoop Dogg and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were among those featured. The album is now platinum.
The duo is now so popular that they have loyal followers that are specially called Juggalos and Jugalettes, two films and a wrestling federation of their own. Although there have still been some encounters with the law, it’s obvious that Insane Clown Posse albums will continue to make carnival nightmares fun.
Experience the Dark Carnival with Insane Clown Posse Albums
Strange is perhaps the best single word description for Insane Clown Posse merch and albums. It’s only right to call their work this way even if the artists behind ICP have been around for more than twenty years and have a strong following. You can call their music strange because they’d probably appreciate it.
ICP is presently made up of two Josephs, Bruce and Utsler. On stage, these two swap their real names for alter egos. They rap as two bad clowns Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. The group enjoys an international reputation but they did not begin to rap under their popular personas until much later. The two formed their first group JJ Boys in the 80s together with some friends who shared an interest in wrestling.
The JJ Boys did not have any grand plans for breaking out into the music scene or selling albums 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.
It was in 1991 when Bruce, Utsler and John Utsler started performing as Inner City Posse and established Psychopathic Records. It wasn’t long however before the group eventually saw gangsta rap as a negative factor. They could not get their break simply because there were too many others with the same style.
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.
Carnival of Carnage finally came out in 1992 but the release was marred by John Utsler’s departure from the group. The release was met with some positive reception. This eventually led to a more favorably accepted release of their second work, Ringmaster which received gold recognition.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.
The group’s greatest success however was The Great Milenko, released in 1996 under the Disney owned Hollywood Records. The label however eventually dropped them because of public criticism. It was PolyGram Records that took over and saw the album through to platinum status.
From their first success, the tandem began to work towards gaining greater respect for their act. They thought they’d be able to do this by asking established rappers to perform some tracks for their album Amazing Jeckel Brothers. Snoop Dogg and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were among those featured. The album is now platinum.
From troubled beginnings, ICP is now at the top of its game boosted by a loyal fan base of Juggalos and Jugalettes. 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.