How do ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope Compare to Other Hip Hop Artists?

When you think of the stereotypical hip hop artist, what image comes to mind? Most would say African American, fashionable, wearing expensive jewelry, into the partying lifestyle, and it’s likely that any stereotypical hip hop artist came from a wealthy background. I say this not because hip hop artists act like they came from bad areas, but because much of the lyrical content spouted by hip hop artists has to do with coming from a rough background. With all that said, how do ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope stack up? They align well with about half of the criteria that was outlined above. ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope do come from poor backgrounds, but this overcoming of adversity is one of the number one attributes that attracts their Juggalo fan base to their music. Furthermore, much of the Insane Clown Posse’s Dark Carnival mythology is structured around themes of the poor receiving redemption for being mistreated by the wealthy class. ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope met when they were teenagers, and experienced live in the Detroit Ghetto together, something that no doubt brought them closer and gave them material for what was to become their immense catalog of songs. ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope are not African American. This is obvious to most, but for any newcomers it might be difficult to discern because ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope are constantly wearing clown face paint, concealing their skin color. On the topic of race, while most mainstream hip hop artists are African American, most hip hop artists that operate within the horror rap genre, as do ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope, are white. Interestingly enough, the first white hip hop artist to ever reach prominence in the genre was Eminem, who happens to be from the same city as ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope: Detroit. Coincidence? Or is there something about this city that breeds unique hip hop artists? Are ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope fashionable like the hip hop artists you see on TV? For 2011, the answer is no. You won’t see ICP’s J or Shaggy 2 Dope sporting the latest kicks, the most expensive bling, or smelling of the freshest cologne. And they’d have it no other way. ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope do not buy into the same materialistic whirlwind that many other mainstream hip hop artists do; for them, it’s more about the music. Looking at ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope, you’d think that they never got the memo the 1990s rap game is over, because they still dress that way. All good to them, however! Lastly, we arrive at partying. It’s well documented that ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope enjoy the partying lifestyle just like other hip hop artists do, and who’s to blame them? In fact, ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope throw a bigger party every year than any other hip hop artist: The Gathering of the Juggalos. The best part? They invite their fans too! How many other mainstream hip hop artists can say that? Resource Box ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope have much in common with other mainstream hip hop artists, and at the same time are quite different. To learn more about ICP’s J and Shaggy 2 Dope, please visit http://insaneclownposse.com.

Four Crazy Eminem Feuds

There's no doubting that Eminem has enjoyed a spot as one of the top hip-hop artists of the past decade and a half. But the outspoken Detroit rappers has also been one of the top hip-hop artists to battle through public feuds over and over again. Eminem feuds have included spats with the mother of his daughter and his own mother, infamously. Eminem feuds have, however, also included public fights with other top hip-hop artists, and even musicians from other genres. Here are some of the most infamous Eminem feuds from the musical world. Christina Aguilera vs. Eminem: This was one of the earliest Eminem feuds, when both he and Aguilera were basically starting out in their careers and Eminem wasn't yet one of the country's top hip-hop artists. Apparently Eminem had tried to flirt with her and she dismissed it publicly in an interview. So in typical Eminem style, he made fun of her in his top hip-hop song "The Real Slim Shady," implying she had slept with MTV's Carson Daly and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. Years later Aguilera attended a screening of Eminem's film 8 Mile, though, proving that this was one of the least serious Eminem feuds. Moby vs. Eminem: This was one of the less serious Eminem feuds, but it came when Em had just firmly established himself as one of the country's top hip-hop artists. Moby took offense to many of the lyrics popular in the top hip-hop of the late '90s, but particularly Eminem's, calling it misogynistic and homophobic. Eminem answered by including a jab at Moby in his top hip-hop song "Without Me." He even dressed up as Moby to parody him in the video for the song. Ja Rule vs. Eminem: This was one of the most public Eminem feuds with a fellow top hip-hop artist. Unlike other Eminem feuds, Eminem didn't start this one himself but rather continued it out of solidarity with his associate, top hip-hop artist 50 Cent. 50 Cent had himself been feuding with Ja Rule, ostensibly over the latter's level of authenticity as a rapper. It escalated from there, and Eminem jumped in, releasing dis tracks with lines meant to insult Ja Rule, like "Bump Heads" and "Hail Mary." ICP vs. Eminem: ICP vs. Eminem is one of the most infamous Eminem feuds. Both Insane Clown Posse and Eminem hail from Detroit, but ICP had established its career long before Eminem's. As legend has it, the ICP vs. Eminem feud began when Eminem falsely promoted a show in Detroit saying ICP would play. They were angry he didn't even bother to ask until they confronted him about the flyer. From there, the ICP vs. Eminem feud escalated. For one thing, Eminem said in an interview he personally didn't take the ICP vs. Eminem feud seriously because he didn't consider them artists. Later he took aim at them in tracks like "Marshall Mathers," making the ICP vs. Eminem feud worse by referring to ICP as "Fa**ot 2 Dope and Silent Gay." While those were fighting words, in the long run the ICP vs. Eminem feud did more to help ICP than anything else. At that point, Eminem had mainstream status while ICP was still somewhat underground, and the ICP vs. Eminem feud drove new fans to at least check out their music. Many became fans of the group's outrageous lyrics and nonchalant attitude to the ICP vs. Eminem feud, and wound up squarely in ICP's camp. Resource Box The ICP vs. Eminem feud wasn't the only thing that attracted fans to Insane Clown Posse. The group had already been building up a massive underground fan base for years based on their provocative lyrics and unforgettable appearance. To find out more about ICP, visit the official Insane Clown Posse web site at http://www.insaneclownposse.com.

The Life and Times of Two Horror Rap Stars

One of the best parts about horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse is the history. Horror Rap, Juggalos, Faygo, Wet Tee shirts, Juggalettes, and even God have all contributed to the colorful Insane Clown Posse history, and a glimpse of the horror rap duo’s life and times was captured in a 1998 documentary called Shockumentary.

It was a time long, long ago in a far away place called Detroit. A time in Insane Clown Posse’s history when both Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J had dreadlocks, and both talked with an energy rarely seen since. A time when horror rap was on the up & up, when parents and consumer groups across the country couldn’t fathom why their children were becoming obsessed with horror rap.

In fact, Shockumentary asks many of the Juggalos it follows around how their parents feel about them listening to ICP. As you can imagine, the answer is always negative. The segment of Insane Clown Posse history documented in Shockumentary is interesting for other reasons, too, most notably because it was right before the music industries demise.

The years of 1997 and 1998 in Insane Clown Posse’s history provide a glimpse into the music business at its best, with the band selling tons and tons of merchandise and music at every show. Horror rap themes of death, evil, the paranormal, and more were (and still are) depicted on ICP’s merchandise.

One subject in the film even boasted that he could wear ICP shirts for one and a half to two months without having to repeat a single one.

Insane Clown Posse and Disney?

Also included this documentary on Insane Clown Posse’s history (then a brief one) is Shaggy and Violent J’s interpretation of the Hollywood Records debacle. It was in 1995 when Hollywood Records (a record label owned by Disney) signed ICP and released The Great Milenko.

The same day it was released, Hollywood Records pulled it from shelves because it wasn’t family music (horror rap is probably the opposite of family music), or as the guys in ICP see it, because the southern Baptist convention suckered Disney into pulling it. Amazingly enough, the album rose to the top of the charts even though it was only on shelves for a few hours. Understandably, they were none too pleased with the decision.

Whoever you believe, the band got a ton of free publicity from the ordeal and went onto sell plenty more records at a critical turning point in Insane Clown Posse’s history. It would later come out that not one person at Hollywood Records listened to ICP’s music before signing them.

Insane Clown Posse: Minding Their Own Business

Insane Clown Posse’s history has been littered with naysayers and negative criticism from the mass media, but they’ve never gone out of their way to bother anyone with their horror rap. The way Insane Clown Posse sees it, if you don’t like horror rap, don’t listen to them!

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Shockumentary is a documentary about horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse. Directed by Paul Andresen, it was released in 1998. To learn more about Insane Clown Posse History, please visit the Insane Clown Posse website at http://insaneclownposse.com/