Insane Clown Posse (ICP) is a horrorcore rap group from suburban Detroit. They perform in full black and white evil clown makeup that strongly resembles that of the rock group KISS. Among their stage antics is dousing the audience with Faygo-brand soda.

The two members are called Violent J (real name Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (real name Joseph Utsler). They were formerly known as Inner City Posse.

ICP made headines in 1997 when it was discovered that they had been signed to Hollywood Records, a record label owned by Disney. Not wanting to promote the band's violent image, Disney dropped them hours after the release of The Great Milenko, creating an unusual amount of publicity and a boost to sales when the album was picked up by Island Records.

Fans of ICP are called Juggalos.

In 1992, ICP released Carnival of Carnage, which they called the 1st Joker's Card, and the group promised five more. They also promised that they would tell a big secret at the end (when the 6th one came out) and their fans would know all there is to know about ICP, the Joker's Cards, and the Dark Carnival. The Dark Carnival is something the band refers to on every album. They claim that it is a powerful force which has spoken with them and is directly opposed to the Devil.

The six Joker Cards in chronological order are as follows:

• Carnival of Carnage
• The Ringmaster
• The Riddlebox
• The Great Milenko
• The Amazing Jeckel Brothers
• The Wraith: Shangri-La
• The Wraith: Hell's Pit

In November, 2002, 10 years after the first Joker's card was released, ICP revealed their big secret. They revealed that all the songs they wrote were masked with subliminal messages that have been pointing to one thing. They say, "Truth is, we follow God, we've always been behind him. The Carnival is God, and may all Juggalos find him." Next, the band said this to their fans, "We're not sorry if we tricked you. We don't care what happens now."

Taken out of context, this may seem misleading. However, devoted fans of the Insane Clown Posse have sworn to messages in the music that were anything BUT satanic. While the music was coarse and harsh, it also carried a sense of responsibility, sighting the real troubles in life. Sarcastically put, while two men in clown make-up may seem terrible, real world problems of rasicm, predjudice, war, famine, poverty and corruption should be taken much more seriously. Each song carried a specific view that ICP wanted to share, blended nicely with entertainment.

Examples of this include (but are not limited to) "The Smog", in which the duo describe pollution as being an entity that kills. "Terrible", in which the duo compare the news coverage given to celebrities instead of key world issues. "Piggy Pie", in which the duo single out racism, political corruption and greed as entities that need to be dealt with. "Hall of Illusions" in which the duo show the life that could have been, if not for abusive, drunken parenting. "Crossing the Bridge", where in the duo question the beliefs of Christianity.

It's not to far off to say that the fans of ICP were entertained in a horrific manner, as if watching a horror film. But it is also important to note that the stories that ICP tell, as well as the story of the ICP duo lives, left many fans with a better feeling and outlook on their own life.

ICP has long been involved in professional wrestling; in the past, they have worked matches in the former World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) and World Championship Wrestling. They also run their own independent promotion. JCW, or Juggalo Championsh*t Wrestling, is modeled after the backyard wrestling of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope's youth, as well as the Japanese hardcore wrestling matches featured in bootleg-style videos released by ICP. They are also main characters in the video game series Backyard Wrestling by Eidos for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2.

In addition to the Joker's Cards, ICP has released other albums, including:

• Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1, 2, and 3
• Dark Lotus
• Beverly Kills 50187
• Bizzar

ICP has been voted the worst band of any genre in various magazine's polls including Spin and Rolling Stone

Discography

1. Party At The Top Of The Hill (1986)
2. Southwest Song (198?)
3. Enter The Ghetto Zone (1990)
4. Intelligence And Violence (1990)
5. Bass-ment Cuts (1991)
6. Bass-ment! (1991)
7. Dog Beats (1991)
8. Gangsta Codes (1992 - unreleased)
9. Carnival of Carnage (1992)
10. Beverly Kills 50187 (1993 - EP)
11. The Ringmaster (1994)
12. Fuck Off (1994 - EP) * Shaggy 2 Dope
13. The Terror Wheel (1994)
14. Dead Pumpkins (1994)
15. Carnival X-Mas '94 (1994)
16. Fat Sweaty Betty (1995)
17. Forgotten Freshness Vol. 1 (1995)
18. The Riddlebox (1995)
19. Chicken Huntin (1995)
20. Jokers Wild Sampler (1995)
21. Mr. Rotten Treats (1995)
22. Tunnel Of Love (1996)
23. Witches and Warlocks (1996)
24. Mutilation Mix (1997)
25. Halls Of Illusions (1997)
26. Mr. Johnson's Head remix (1997)
27. A Carnival XMas '97 (1997)
28. The Great Milenko (1997) (Hollywood Records (Disney))
29. The Great Milenko (1998) (Island Records)
30. Psychopathic Sampler (1998)
31. Hokus Pokus (1998)
32. Join The Show (1998)
33. Pumpkin Carver (1998)
34. Forgotten Freshness Vol. 1 & 2 (1998)
35. Phat or Wack sampler (1999)
36. The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (1999)
37. Fuck The World (1999)
38. Another Love Song (1999)
39. Mad Professor (1999)
40. Party Mix (1999)
41. Sleepwalker (1999)
42. Jacob's Word (2000)
43. Bizzar/Bizaar sampler (2000)
44. Tilt-A-Whirl (2000)
45. Let's Go All The Way (2000)
46. Bizzar (2000)
47. Bizaar (2000)
48. Hallowicked 2000 EP (2000)
49. The Pendulum (2000 - 2002)
50. Psychopathic Sampler '01 (2001)
51. Hallowicked 2001 (2001)
52. Forgotten Freshness Vol. 3(2001)
53. The Wraith: Shangri-La sampler (2002)
54. Hallowicked 2002 (2002)
55. The Wraith: Shangri-La (2002)
56. Homies (2003)
57. Wizard of the Hood EP (2003)
58. The Wraith: Hell's Pit (with Bonus DVD of the Bowling Balls video) (2004)
59. The Wraith: Hell's Pit (with Bonus DVD containing Real Underground Baby and Bootlegged in Denver) (2004)
60. The Calm (2005)

External links

• Insane Clown Posse official site (http://www.insaneclownposse.com/)
• Psychopathic Records offical site (portal) (http://www.psychopathicrecords.com/)