1985–1994: Early history Joseph Bruce (Violent J) and
Joseph Utsler (Shaggy 2 Dope) met in
Oak Park, a suburb on the north border of
Detroit,
Michigan. Along with Utsler's brother, John, and friend, Lacy, they wrestled in
backyard rings that they had built themselves. The pair also shared an interest in
hip-hop, including artists like
3rd Bass,
Beastie Boys,
N.W.A and local rappers such as Awesome Dre. Poverty and a difficult home life drove Bruce to move in with Rudy "The Rude Boy" Hill in
River Rouge, a city near the industrial southwest side of Detroit. Feeling a sense of home and belonging, Bruce formed a gang called Inner City Posse, which was composed of Joseph Utsler, Rudy Hill, other friends of Bruce, and a number of other connections he had made in Southwest Detroit. this experience convinced him to reduce his involvement in gang life. According to Alex Abbiss, Chris Mclellan, then programming director of
WJLB, declined to play the EP's single "Dog Beats" because Inner City Posse's members were white. While trying to get stations to play the single, Bruce learned that one of the stations he and Abbiss visited would be interviewing local rapper
Esham, who Bruce considered to be a "superstar"; Bruce had recently begun to collect Esham's albums, as he had done with other local rappers; by the time he had discovered Esham, the rapper had released two full-length albums and three EPs. Referring to local rapper
Esham's
horrorcore style, Bruce suggested the duo adapt this genre, in a bid to have Detroit represent acid rap, much as
Los Angeles represented gangsta rap. The group agreed, but not to copy the style of Esham closely. Instead, they suggested using horror-themed lyrics as an emotional outlet for all their negative life experiences. They were also unanimous in deciding not to rap openly about
Satan, which Esham often did. The group finished recording the album with Clark, who continued to work with them throughout their career. The album featured appearances from local rappers, including Esham and
Kid Rock. During a live performance of the song "The Juggla", Bruce addressed the audience as
Juggalos, and the positive response resulted in the group using the word thereafter. Greez-E left the group after the EP was released.
1994: Ringmaster era The group's second studio album,
Ringmaster, was released on March 8, 1994, and its popularity enabled the group to sell out larger nightclubs across Detroit. Because Bruce and Utsler made reference to the Detroit-produced soft drink
Faygo in their songs, they "figured it would be cool to have some on stage with [them]". After receiving a positive response, Bruce and Utsler have since continued to spray Faygo onto audiences. The group's second EP,
The Terror Wheel, was released on August 5, 1994. One of the songs from the EP, "Dead Body Man", received considerable local radio play. After Battery/Jive Records showed little interest in promoting the album, Insane Clown Posse funded the promotion of
Riddle Box independently. This effort led the group to
Dallas, Texas, where it persuaded several music retail stores to stock the album. Sales averaged 1,500 copies per week as a result.
1997–1998: The Great Milenko era Manager Alex Abbiss negotiated a contract with the
Disney-owned label
Hollywood Records, which reportedly paid $1 million to purchase the Insane Clown Posse contract from Battery/Jive/BMG Records. The group started recording its fourth studio album,
The Great Milenko, in 1996, during which Disney requested that the tracks "The Neden Game", "Under the Moon", and "Boogie Woogie Wu" be removed. Disney also asked that the lyrics of other tracks be changed, threatening to not release the album otherwise. Bruce and Utsler complied with Disney's request, and planned to go on a national tour with
House of Krazees and
Myzery as their opening acts. The group was also informed that its in-store signings and nationwide tour had been canceled, and commercials for the album and the
music video for "Halls of Illusions" (which had reached No. 1 on
The Box video request channel) were pulled from television, and the group was dropped from the label. The Convention accused Disney of turning its back on "
family values". Although Abbiss told the press that Disney had stopped production of
The Great Milenko to avoid further controversy, Disney claimed instead that the release of the album was an oversight by their review board, and that the album "did not fit the Disney image" because of its "inappropriate" lyrics, which they claimed were offensive to women. After the termination of the Hollywood Records contract, Insane Clown Posse signed a new contract with
Island/
PolyGram Records, which agreed to release the album as intended.
Entertainment Weekly music critic
David Browne gave the record a C-minus rating: "[With] its puerile humor and intentionally ugly metal-rap tunes, the album feels oddly dated". Halfway through the tour, Brian Jones of House of Krazees had a falling out with his band members. Jones left the group, forcing House of Krazees to quit the tour.
Eminem feud In late 1997, Bruce took Myzery to St. Andrew's Hall.
Eminem, then an unknown local emcee, approached Bruce and, according to Bruce, handed him a flyer advertising the release party for the
Slim Shady EP. The flyer read, "Featuring appearances by Esham, Kid Rock, and ICP (maybe)".
The House of Horrors Tour One month after ''ICP's Strangle-Mania Live
, Insane Clown Posse began their second nationwide tour, "The House of Horrors Tour", with Myzery added as one of the opening acts. While searching for the second opening act, Bruce received a telephone call at his home from former House of Krazees members Jamie Spaniolo and Paul Methric, who told Bruce that the group was officially disbanded and asked to be on the tour. The January 1998 issue of Spin magazine ran a four-page cartoon lampooning Insane Clown Posse and Juggalos, claiming that the group was offensive "not for their obscenity, but for their stupidity". Spin'' likened Insane Clown Posse's stage act to "a sort of circus
karaoke" and portrayed the group's fans as overweight suburbanites. On the group's website, Bruce responded to the article by stating, "I could give a fuck less". After a show in
Indianapolis, Insane Clown Posse's tour bus stopped at a
Waffle House in
Greenfield, Indiana. When a customer began to harass Spaniolo and Bruce, a fight broke out between the customer and all of the bands' members. The group's tour was briefly derailed in January 1998, when their tour bus drifted off a highway and down an embankment, leaving Frank Moreno of Psycho Realm with a concussion. As a result of the accident, Insane Clown Posse postponed two shows scheduled for
Cleveland, Ohio, on January 22 and 23, but honored their promise to perform on January 25 and 26. They face a lawsuit over alleged sexual harassment.
1999: The Amazing Jeckel Brothers era On April 19, 1998, in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bruce suffered a
panic attack during a performance and was carried off stage. Bruce, who later recalled being completely "out of it", By late 1998 over one million copies of
The Great Milenko had been sold, and Insane Clown Posse was ready for its fifth album,
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers. Working with Mike E. Clark and Rich "
Legz Diamond" Murrell, Bruce and Utsler developed their album with the highest of hopes. The group was known nationally, but were not taken very seriously. Hoping to receive the respect Bruce and Utsler felt they deserved, they planned to feature well-known, respected rappers on their album. and has since been certified platinum by the
RIAA.
Rolling Stone writer Barry Walters gave the album a "two out of five stars" rating, writing that "no musical sleight of hand can disguise the fact that Shaggy andJ remain the ultimate wack MCs". At the same time as
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers release, Island Records merged with
Def Jam Records. It quickly became apparent to Bruce and Utsler that Def Jam Records had no interest in them. The stage crew members, who showed their dislike for Insane Clown Posse, were a source of contention. Despite the crew striking twice, the movie was filmed in two months. They were excited about the offer, as it indicated their impact on the music industry. Some people perceived participating in Woodstock '99 was a
sell-out for the group; however, Bruce and Utsler disagreed. As Bruce explains, "[Woodstock] sold out the mainstream style for us! Woodstock never came to us and asked us to change one fuckin' thing about us or our show! They wanted ICP just as ICP is, and nothing else. If that ain't fresh, then I don't know what the fuck is!". Osbourne stated that her group was to receive $12,500 per show for a scheduled two-month package tour. Bruce reiterated that Coal Chamber's music did not appeal to Insane Clown Posse fans, and that ticket refunds decreased after Coal Chamber had been removed from the tour. In June 2000, Eminem physically attacked Douglas Dail, an Insane Clown Posse affiliate, threatening him with a gun in the parking lot of a car audio store in
Royal Oak, Michigan. Eminem pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for two years probation and a $10,000 fine. In July 2000, Bruce and Utsler staged the first annual
Gathering of the Juggalos at the Novi Expo Center in
Novi, Michigan. Described by Bruce as a "Juggalo Woodstock", the Gathering of the Juggalos was a three-day music festival that featured wrestling, games, seminars, contests,
sideshows, and performances by all Psychopathic Records' artists. In
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, Ben Sisario wrote that the albums "qualify as ICP's masterworks of both merchandising and music". Both albums were given a "three out of five stars" rating. Insane Clown Posse had their own studio built, called "The Lotus Pod". The second Gathering of the Juggalos was held from July 13–15 at the
SeaGate Convention Centre in
Toledo, Ohio.
2002–2003: The Wraith: Shangri-La era The face of the sixth Joker's Card is "The Wraith", a personification of
Death. The card features two "exhibits",
Shangri-La and ''
Hell's Pit, each of which would be given its own album. On November 5, 2002, Insane Clown Posse released their eighth studio album, The Wraith: Shangri-La, which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard'' 200 and No. 1 on the Top Independent Albums chart. The album was notable for its explicit acknowledgment of ICP's
belief in God. Ben Sisario criticized the album in the
Rolling Stone Album Guide, writing that "the whole thing was some bland divine plan" and asking, "Is this man's final dis of God, or His of us?" In September 2003, Insane Clown Posse was voted "the worst band of any musical genre" in
Blender, with
The Wraith: Shangri-La named as the group's worst album. However, the magazine also gave the album a positive review for its "charming, good-natured idiocy". According to Bruce,Some people might've been upset [by spiritual themes in
The Wraith: Shangri-La], but through our eyes all we did was touch a lot of people. We definitely wanted it to be something everlasting. Maybe a 19-year-old might not understand or like that ending now. But later, when he has four kids, he might think, "That was the shit."Following the release of
The Wraith: Shangri-La, Bruce and Utsler signed a new contract with
Sony BMG's
RED Distribution and launched the Psychopathic Europe record label. On August 31, 2004, Insane Clown Posse released their ninth studio album, ''Hell's Pit'', the second exhibit of The Wraith, intended to warn listeners of the horrors of
Hell. Bruce described the album as the darkest, most painful work he had ever done.
2005–2006: Post-First Deck era In 2005,
D12 and Insane Clown Posse ended their feud, with the help of member
Proof. Attempts to officially end the feud between Eminem and Insane Clown Posse have been unsuccessful, but Bruce states that the rivalry has ended. On February 1, 2006, Insane Clown Posse fan
Jacob D. Robida attacked individuals in a gay bar in
New Bedford, Massachusetts, with a handgun and a hatchet—a weapon featured in the logo of the group's record label, Psychopathic Records. Robida had a swastika tattoo and flaunted Nazi insignias and paraphernalia on his website. On February 5, Robida shot and killed a traffic officer during a routine stop. When police pulled Robida over during a later stop, he killed his girlfriend, Jennifer Bailey of
Charleston, West Virginia, then opened fire on the police. Robida was shot twice in the head during the shootout with the police, and later died in the hospital. On October 21, 2006, Insane Clown Posse performed at one of twenty benefit shows organized by
Myspace as part of the "Rock for
Darfur" campaign to raise awareness of the
War in Darfur and funds for the region's aid.
2007–2008: The Tempest era On March 20, 2007, Insane Clown Posse released their tenth studio album,
The Tempest, which debuted at No. 20 on the
Billboard 200 and sold nearly 33,000 copies in its first week. In 2008, Bruce and Utsler starred in the Knyrim-directed film
Death Racers. It was released direct-to-video on September 16, 2008, by
The Asylum. In December 2008, John Antonelli filed a lawsuit against the group after being struck by an unopened two-liter of Faygo during a performance at the
Fargo nightclub The Hub, formerly known as Playmakers. Antonelli is seeking at least $50,000 in damages. The lawsuit also names the venue, Playmakers, as a defendant. An attorney for Playmakers states that only Bruce should be held liable.
2009–present: Second Joker Card Deck Big Money Rustlas Filming of
Big Money Rustlas, a
Western spoof, began in January 2009, The tenth Gathering of the Juggalos took place at Hogrock in
Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, from August 6 to 9. The event had the largest attendance in Gathering history with over 20,000 people. Over 120 musical artists performed at the event, including the likes of
Tech N9ne,
Kottonmouth Kings,
Ice Cube,
Gwar,
Coolio,
Vanilla Ice,
Onyx,
Scarface,
The Dayton Family,
Bizarre,
Esham, and
NATAS. At the event, the
Big Money Rustlas trailer was screened twice. An
infomercial for the event was released online by Psychopathic Records. After the event, a friend of Esham's handed Bruce a copy of his album ''
I Ain't Cha Homey'', which depicted a clown committing suicide with a gun on the front cover. Bruce listened to the album and saw it as a diss towards Insane Clown Posse. While Esham claimed that the album was not a diss in his
podcast, the album strained the relationship between Bruce and Esham. The album was later revealed to be the first of a "second deck" of Joker's Cards.
The Detroit News music critic Adam Graham gave the album a B rating, describing it as "the best material the Clowns have touched since 1999's
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers". On July 21, 2009,
Tom Scharpling and
Paul F. Tompkins discussed the 2009 Gathering of the Juggalos infomercial at length on
The Best Show on WFMU. On December 5, 2009,
Saturday Night Live aired a sketch titled "Kickspit Underground Rock Festival", which parodied the Gathering of the Juggalos
infomercial. On March 9, 2010, Insane Clown Posse were interviewed by
Nightline journalist
Martin Bashir. Bruce hated the segment, stating that Bashir took statements made by the duo out of context, pairing one of Bruce's responses with a different question than he had been asked. The trailer for
Big Money Rustlas spawned a parody video called "Juggalo News", which achieved popularity on
CollegeHumor and
Funny or Die, and was praised by Bruce on his
Twitter account. On April 6, 2010,
Bang! Pow! Boom! was reissued in a "Nuclear Edition", which featured previously unreleased material and music videos for the songs "In Yo Face" and "
Miracles". During this period, the duo won the
Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Hip-Hop Artist/Group. On April 17,
Saturday Night Live aired a sketch which parodied the "Miracles" music video, featuring host
Ryan Phillippe and cast member
Bobby Moynihan. Insane Clown Posse responded favorably to the parody, and asked to appear on the show. White played the track he was working on, an
arrangement of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "
Leck mich im Arsch" with live instrumentation by
JEFF the Brotherhood, for Bruce and Utsler and explained that the title of the track translated to "Lick My Ass".
Big Money Rustlas was released on August 17, 2010. The group released a three-disc compilation of their guest appearances with other artists called
Featuring Freshness in November 2011. The compilation also included new songs with artists
Paris,
Cold 187um, and Tone Tone. In June, Insane Clown Posse issued a cease and desist notice to the
Upright Citizens Brigade, threatening legal action over a planned performance, "The Gathering of the Juggalos For A Mother Fucking
Baby Funeral".
2012–2014: The Mighty Death Pop! era and appearance on 1000 Ways To Die At their 2010 Hallowicked concert, Insane Clown Posse announced that the second new Joker's Card would be
The Mighty Death Pop! The album has two faces, the first of which was revealed at the Hallowicked concert. The second variant, the
Black Pop edition, contains the album
Freaky Tales, consisting of a single, album-length rap, inspired by
Too Short's song of the same name.
Scarface,
Geto Boys,
Kreayshawn, The lawsuit asks for the documents that the FBI used to reach this conclusion; in August 2013, federal authorities had "filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying they had already released several news media reports about Juggalos involved in criminal activity". The
American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is working with ICP's lawyers in order "to ensure the right of Juggalos everywhere to gather together and express their support of the I.C.P. without having to worry about being unfairly targeted and harassed by law enforcement". ICP announced in the edition of December 21, 2012, of the Hatchet Herald that they will be releasing a sideshow EP to
The Mighty Death Pop! in 2013. After no word was heard on the album, it was speculated that it had been scrapped. In mid 2013 it was announced that ICP would be releasing their first ever box set titled
The First Six. After the release date came and passed,
The First Six was not released. In a February 2014 interview with Faygoluvers, the question was asked if we would be able to get the box set. ICP thought it had already been released. Dog Beats (the first ever release on Psychopathic Records) was set to be the bonus album in the box set, ICP went back and decided to put
House of Wax in the box set instead.
The First Six was set to be released on October 28, 2014. After a minor setback, was ultimately released on November 25, 2014. Additionally, Psychopathic Records is pushing back against a former
publicist who is suing the label for
sexual harassment. In late 2013 ICP teamed up with
Da Mafia 6ix to create The Killjoy Club, and released their debut album
Reindeer Games on September 2, 2014. ICP went on "The ShockFest Tour" with Da Mafia 6ix,
Mushroomhead,
Madchild and
Jelly Roll, additionally Big Hoodoo joined the tour to perform before the ticketed acts. To close out the shows on the tour Insane Clown Posse and Da Mafia 6ix performed on stage together as The Killjoy Club, doing only two songs.
2015–2017: The Marvelous Missing Link era During their 2014 Hallowicked concert, ICP revealed the 3rd Joker Card in the 2nd Deck of the Dark Carnival saga. The first part of the third card is titled
The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost, which was released on
Violent J's 43rd birthday, April 28, 2015. The second part of the third card is titled
The Marvelous Missing Link: Found, and was originally set to be released during the 2015 Gathering of the Juggalos, July 28, 2015. It was released three days later. On December 5, 2015, Violent J announced that original member
John Kickjazz (
Shaggy 2 Dope's older brother) had died on November 20, 2015, at a group home in Michigan.
Young Wicked of the
Axe Murder Boyz posted on his personal Instagram account that
The Marvelous Missing Link was one of the Insane Clown Posse's best albums ever. He stated specifically that it was going back to the Insane Clown Posse's roots in the era of the first deck of Jokers Cards. Young Wicked also made a statement that referenced the idea that he may have some featured spots on one of the albums. On April 7, 2015,
The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost was made available for digital download preorder. Those who preordered on that day received the first single off the album, titled "Vomit". The rest of the album automatically downloaded on the release date, April 28, 2015. Michigan-based author Steve Miller wrote a book,
Juggalo: Insane Clown Posse, Their Fans, and the World They Made; released in 2016 via
Da Capo Press, the book details the fandom associated with juggalos and their struggle with the FBI. In late 2015 2 flyers were released with the
Phantom: X-tra Spooky Edition, promoting 2016 solo album releases from Violent J titled,
Karma Forest, and Shaggy 2 Dope titled,
F.T.F.O.M.F.. On December 10, 2015, it was announced that the sideshow EP for
The Marvelous Missing Link albums was released titled
Phantom: X-tra Spooky Edition. In an April 8, 2016 faygoluvers.net interview with Violent J, he stated that Shaggy 2 Dope has been working with
Young Wicked, who also produced the album, without asking Violent J for any help this far. After an internal conflict between Young Wicked, Violent J and
Jumpsteady, it was rumoured that Young Wicked had left
Psychopathic Records but was not made official until December 31, 2016, when it was announced that he had signed to
Majik Ninja Entertainment. In a January 19, 2017 ICP interview with Faygoluvers.net, Violent J stated that Shaggy 2 Dope and
DJ Clay were working on the album. The album features Violent J on the song "Foggin' Up the Window" and DJ Clay on the bonus track (only available digitally) "Awww Shit". The album was released on May 26, 2017, and charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 72, Independent at No. 1, R&B/Hip-Hop at No. 39, Top Album Sales at No. 18 and Artist 100 at No. 96.
2017–2019: Fearless Fred Fury era On April 13, 2017, Violent J announced the development of the 4th Joker Card in the 2nd Deck was ongoing. On September 16, 2017, an estimated 1,500 Juggalos gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial to organize a concert and
all-day rally in protest of their gang classification, and "class-based discrimination by law enforcement". On June 22, 2018, ICP began posting live updates during the recording sessions for their album, which was to be named
Fearless Fred Fury. It was originally announced for release on October 26, 2018, slated to release alongside a companion EP titled
Flip The Rat.
2020–2023: Yum Yum Bedlam era On October 5, 2020, during ICP's House Party Peep Show live stream, the 5th Joker Card, entitled
Yum Yum Bedlam was revealed, with a Christmas 2020 release date. During the live steam, the existence of three companion EPs was also confirmed for the album release cycle. The album released on Halloween, 2021. The album's three companion EPs, entitled
Wicked Vic the Weed,
Pug Ugly the Stink Bud, and
Woh the Weepin Weirdo, were all released in 2022.
2024–present: The Naught era On April 24, 2024, Violent J revealed that previous long-time collaborator Mike E. Clark would be returning to produce the 6th Joker's Card of the 2nd Deck. On July 25, 2025, they revealed the name of the album,
The Naught, which would be released on August 12, 2025. Clark produced 5 of the 17 tracks on the album. Insane Clown Posse will tour in 2026. ==Artistry==