subject: Insane Clown Posse Albums- Nightmare In A Carnival [print this page] For a music group that has been around for more than two decades, it seems unfair to continually refer to Insane Clown Posse 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.
The group is now made up of the duo Joseph Utsler and Joseph Bruce and performs under the monikers of two wicked clowns, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. Although, the tandem has become firmly entrenched in their chosen genre, they did not start out under their current creative influence. The two go back a long way, when in the 1980s, they formed the group JJ Boys in Detroit along with fellow wrestling friends.
The JJ Boys did not have any grand plans for breaking out into the music scene. 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.
From a gang, Inner City Posse became a performing group made up of Bruce, Utsler and his brother John. Even with their own label Psychopathic Records however, success did not come easy. Gangsta rap was just too crowded with artists wanting to make it big to try to make a new name in.
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.
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.
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.
