Juggalos? Clowns? What is it that Makes GOTJ so Desirable?

Summer will soon be upon us. This is of course welcome news for most anyone—better weather, a more relaxed environment, and some even get the summer off if they’re still in school. But for Juggalos the summer has an entirely different meaning; The Gathering of the Juggalos (GOTJ) is almost here! GOTJ was started by ICP and Psychopathic Records founders Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope back in the year 2000 after many years of deliberation. Yes there were problems and hitches during the first couple years of GOTJ, but since it has become more refined most events run smoothly. This improved production quality is just one of the many reasons Juggalos have been coming to GOTJ in droves every year since its inception. But there has to be more to GOTJ than just the horror rap music, right? Why yes, that would be correct. GOTJ is primarily known for the horror rap artists that grace its stages, but this giant ICP carnival offers many bonuses for attending outside of just the music. Let’s consider the music to be a backdrop for a moment. Yes, the music is what brings people together, but the rest of GOTJ is so alluring it can almost be referred to as an ICP carnival. No, I’m not talking about the ICP carnival woven through their albums’ mythology; I’m talking about a legitimate carnival with rides, clowns, games and more. GOTJ, really a massive ICP carnival, can be counted as such because it features attractions including everything from helicopter rides to Ferris wheel rides. In the past, there have been side shows featuring everything from ICP carnival mainstays like wrestlers to unexpected performing guests, like Tila Tequila or Bobby Brown. The most obvious similarity between this ICP carnival and a standard carnival would be the clowns. There might not be colorful clowns walking around on stilts asking for you to knock them over, but with every Juggalo in the crowd dressed with their ICP carnival face paint on and resembling an evil clown, or Insane clown if you will. While these comparisons of the GOTJ ICP carnival to your every day carnival are good and well, there are many things that any ICP carnival, regardless of the year, will always have over a traditional carnival, the most important of which is Juggalo love. While GOTJ is famous for a lot of things like the ICP carnival-esque offerings mentioned above, it is most known among Juggalos for being a place where, one time a year, all Juggalos can reunite and enjoy each other. Juggalos treat and respect each other as family, because most of them have a similar outlook on life and have walked similar paths on their way to membership in the Juggalo clan. Resource Box GOTJ, the annual ICP carnival for Juggalos to enjoy horror rap music, games, and each other, is nearing. To see merchandise that will help you blend in better with the Juggalo crowd at GOTJ events, please visit http://hatchetgear.com.

What Juggalos Can Expect of The Mighty Death Pop! Joker’s Card

You can’t consider yourself a real Juggalo if you haven’t heard by now that Insane Clown Posse will be releasing their 12th studio album, The Mighty Death Pop!, on August 14th, 2012. Of course, with the release of The Mighty Death Pop!, will come a new Joker’s card for all Juggalos and Juggalettes to explore. The most noteworthy fact about the Mighty Death Pop! Joker’s card so far is that it will be the second card in the second deck of Joker’s cards. However, that being said, it would appear so far that the second deck of Joker’s cards will not be that different than the first deck of cards, because card #1 in deck #2 of Joker’s cards dealt with the same themes known to Juggalos in the first deck of Joker’s cards. The Dark Carnival (mythology surrounding ICP albums and Joker’s cards) is without a doubt one of a kind. You’d be hard pressed to name five other artists that have designed their own mythology to attract new fans and keep them interested, as ICP has done with Juggalos. All cards to date, and presumably the Mighty Death Pop! Joker’s card, deal with themes of justice and repercussion for individual actions. ICP’s Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope express these messages in these forms because they know that medium is one which today’s fans will understand. Music fans of 2012, especially Juggalos, are in no mood to listen to preaching in music or otherwise. However, this clever approach gets Juggalos interested in the band’s message in an obsessive manner. They hope to continue this trend with The Mighty Death Pop!’s Joker’s card, something most Juggalos are salivating over. The first unique thing to note about Mighty Death Pop!’s Joker’s card is that there are two of them. Yes, The Mighty Death Pop! will be the first ICP album on which Juggalos can enjoy two separate cards. While the first Mighty Death Pop! card was nothing too unusual (face of an evil Jester), it looks more fierce than its predecessor in Bang! Boom! Pow!’s Joker’s card, a continuous explosion to clear evil souls out of carnival grounds. The Mighty Death Pop! card is more ornate as well, and if you can take that to mean they spent more time on Mighty Death Pop! than Bang! Boom! Pow!, that would be a positive as far as most Juggalos are concerned. The second Joker’s card revealed for The Mighty Death Pop! is another evil face on a ticking bomb. The unmistakable symbolism here is that Mighty Death Pop! is going to be more intense than previous albums, and probably blow up when it hits stores in August. This kind of tease from a card always gets Juggalos riled up and excited for the next release. Has it done so for you? Resource Box Joker’s cards are one of the most important staples in Juggalos’ appreciation of ICP. To view merchandise containing ICP’s past and present Joker’s cards, please visit http://hatchetgear.com/bands/icp.html.

Where Juggalos and Juggalettes Enjoy ICP in 2012

In the days of yester-decade, there was only a handful of places for Juggalos and Juggalettes to enjoy music. Juggalos could listen to the latest ICP CD in their car or at home, and Juggalettes could hear ICP on the same format through a boombox while tanning poolside. Alternatively, if Juggalos and Juggalettes were in the right place at the right time, they could catch an ICP tune on the radio during their commute or just while out on the town. Finally, Juggalos and Juggalettes could enjoy each other’s company at a live ICP concert, and probably count on getting their fair share of Faygo showers together there! All of those music enjoyment avenues are still viable, even though a few have fallen by the wayside (radio, CDs). In the year 2012, there are a million different ways to experience the music of Insane Clown Posse, the most inventive of which is through Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel. But more on that later. I mentioned earlier that CDs and Radio are no longer the foremost avenues of music discovery. That’s because they’ve been taken over by other mediums that are more convenient to Juggalos and Juggalettes alike. All Juggalos and Juggalettes with an internet connected device (computer, iphone, etc.) can now enjoy Insane Clown Posse’s music through channels like music streaming services (Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark, Pandora), through the band’s website (insaneclownposse.com), or even purchase the band’s songs through the iTunes store. But none of those are as appealing as the Insane Clown Posse YouTube channel. A website, Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel is always accessible to Juggalos and Juggalettes as long as they are connected to the Internet. That’s standard at this day in age. What Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel does better than the rest of the above mentioned avenues is incorporate video and audio into one central hub. Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel is not just meant for music videos, but audio tracks as well. Once Juggalettes and Juggalos become adept at using Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube channel, they can create playlists of their favorite Insane Clown Posse YouTube material and have is stream continuously through their device of their choice. Considering how much rare Insane Clown Posse YouTube material there is, that could be a pretty epic playlist! Just in case Juggalettes and Juggalos don’t have the time to create their own Insane Clown Posse YouTube playlist, the ICP channel that exists right now has a few of their own up for Juggalo / Juggalette listening pleasure. They include: Music Videos, Spots for Psychopathic Records, ICP / Psychopathic Records, Psychopathic Radio Archive, and JCW Wrestling. So if you think about it, Juggalettes and Juggalos, if using the Insane Clown Posse YouTube channel correctly, could have their playlist spliced in with some JCW Wrestling footage as well! Resource Box Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube presence grows more important with each new day. This article discusses past ICP listening environments and compares them to Insane Clown Posse’s YouTube presence today. To learn more about visual ICP footage appreciated by Juggalos and Juggalettes, please visit http://hatchetgear.com/bands/icp/.

Branding Horror Rap – The ICP Marketing Machine

Say what you will about Detroit’s infamous horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse, but many revere them as music marketing geniuses. The same cannot be said for many of the suits promoting traditional hip hop artists’ material.

The success these guys have seen over the past 20 years is ridiculous, especially when you take into consideration that they are not traditional hip hop artists, and that their acquired-taste horror rap music receives very little attention from the mainstream that prefers traditional hip hop artists. However, it receives much attention from those who it’s directed towards: Juggalos.

So how have they done it?

If you take a look at some of the most successful artists (even hip hop artsts) throughout the last 20 years, you’ll realize that most of them have at least one trait in common: They were all outcasts before they hit the big time.

Kurt Cobain, Eminem, even Lady Gaga provide an experience for their fans to latch onto and feel belonging. ICP and their Juggalo fan base are no different.  Unlike many hip hop artists who aim at what is stereotypically “popular” with their content, ICP and its Juggalo fan base enjoy being “misunderstood” by the mainstream and capitalize on the sentiment via horror rap.

From their ridiculous lyrics, Juggalo face paint, laundry list of appealing merchandise – action figures, backpacks, comic books, Joker’s cards – these guys have built their brand to last even past a time when horror rap no longer exists.  

Think about it. How many other groups – not just hip hop artists, all groups in general – have fans that enamor them so much they’ll paint their faces and dress like them? ICP does. How many acts have fan bases with their own slang language? ICP’s Juggalo fans do. Juggalos are so close to one another that they congregate annually at ICP’s Gathering of the Juggalos music festival. No other hip hop artists’ fans do this.

Here, among other things, both Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope even hold seminars for Juggalo fanatics on a number of different topics, most of which relate to their horror rap act in some way, shape, or form. Most hip hop artists don’t have their own festival and record label, let alone the accessibility to their fan base like ICP does.

This type of ICP to fan accessibility at the Gathering of the Juggalos isn’t limited to just ICP either. Other horror rap musicians talk with fans too, most of which belong to ICP’s record label, Psychopathic Records.

Things to takeaway from the school of ICP branding include their merchandise diversity, their accessibility to fans, and their outsider mentality. If you’re interested in starting any type of hip hop career, horror rap or non, don’t follow the same route most hip hop artists take of lusting after mainstream materialism and wealth.

Ironically, it’s probably smarter to follow the marketing strategy of horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse, whose Juggalo fans are quite possible the most fiercely loyal in all of hip hop.

Resource Box

Horror rap outfit Insane Clown Posse, are on a smaller scale than most mainstream hip hop artists but have arguably the most devoted fan base in their Juggalo followers. To learn more about their marketing machine, please visit http://insaneclownposse.com.

Preparing for Your Favorite Music Festival

Music festivals in general are big business already, but two unique festival ideas that are growing more popular by the year are artist-curated and themed music festivals. The former option gives one band or record label full reign on who plays and what activities are involved, and gives that company tons of brand exposure in return. In themed festivals, there’s often a musical theme like jam bands or metal bands that is accompanied by any atmosphere associated with that style.

If you’re smart, you can combine both ideas into one and throw an artist-curated, themed music festival that gives more bang for buck than any other option. Insane Clown Posse was so ahead of the game on this one that they’ve been doing it for twelve years!

Why Gathering of the Juggalos is so Popular

There are many things that made Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos horror rap soiree different from every other major music festival in 2011, primarily its deliberately underground nature. This music festival’s predominant genre of music is that of horror rap, a genre very rare in mainstream music -- just the way Insane Clown Posse members and Juggalos want it.

Aside from the general sound booked at the Insane Clown Posse music festival, other things that set it apart were the wide range of activities available to Juggalos in attendance: bonfires, helicopter rides, artist seminars (with Insane Clown Posse and others), autograph sessions, wet tee shirt contests and Juggalettes are just some of what was offered at this Gathering of the Juggalos horror rap music festival in 2011.

For examples of just how devoted Juggalos are to Insane Clown Posse’s mission, check out some of the ways fans get prepared for the festival every year. If every music festival in 2011 had this much personality and drew this much energy from music enthusiasts, music festivals in 2011 would be more popular than they already are.

Insane Clown Posse Face Paint

It’s impossible not to notice the face paint permanently plastered to the faces of Insane Clown Posse horror rappers Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. They’re never seen without it, and neither should you be at Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos horror rap music festival!

When applying the face paint, remember that the objective is to look frightening. Insane Clown Posse perform horror rap, after all. You wouldn’t fit in very well at the Gathering of the Juggalos if you painted your face like a normal, happy clown.

Thanks to its complexity, accomplishing the Insane Clown Posse horror rap face paint look is harder than it sounds. Whatever horror rap face paint design you choose, make sure to dash in some red accents to make sure you look as wicked as possible. At the same time, make sure your horror rap face paint looks good before you attend Gathering of the Juggalos!

Gathering of the Juggalos Inside Lingo

A unique lingo is just one more thing that the Gathering of the Juggalos brings to the table that no other music festival in 2011 has offered or will offer. If there’s one term that’s universal among Insane Clown Posse adoring Juggalos at the Gathering of the Juggalos, it’s “whoop whoop.” Its meaning is about as simple as you’d expect, translating to a simple hello or what’s up.

Horror Rap Merchandise

As Insane Clown Posse and most other bands that performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos music festival in 2011 are closely associated with the horror rap genre, nearly all merchandise sold at the Gathering of the Juggalos will reflects that. Horror rap hoodies, tees, action figures, posters, pretty much any artist merchandise you can imagine was on hand, branded with artistic horror rap gore of some sort.

Anatomy of Successful Music Festivals in 2011

If the facts about Gathering of the Juggalos above can teach us anything about the modern music landscape and how festivals can continue to grow beyond 2011, it’s that creating a sense of belonging is key. Through providing alternative activities and creating miniature inner-festival cultures, many music festivals could soon grow to reach the same status as Gathering of the Juggalos.

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The Gathering of the Juggalos was one of the best-known music festivals in 2011, featuring a lineup of horror rap artists on the Psychopathic Records roster. It offers a lot over the course of its four-day life, so coming prepared ahead of time is a necessity. To learn more about Gathering of the Juggalos music festival visit ICP's website at http://insaneclownposse.com/

The Importance of Branding Music Merchandise

Musicians these days have a very difficult time selling their music; most of it falls victim to piracy. That’s why it’s more important now than ever before to sell as much merchandise – shirts, posters, buttons, etc. – as humanly possible. Some bands are better at this than others, but one band stands above them all: Insane Clown Posse.

One of the most impressive things about the Insane Clown Posse isn’t their success, their hatchetman logo, their enormous Juggalo fan base, their own festival, their wrestling league or their expansive record label -- it’s their unprecedented line of merchandise, or ICP gear. That’s why artist merchandise like ICP’s gear is so important – it goes a long way in making up for lost revenue from illegally downloaded CDs.

Necessity of the Hatchetman

Merchandise is much easier to sell when there’s a recognizable brand or logo plastering the item. When people like associating with your brand, they’ll take every opportunity they can to do so. Most artists have logos built around their name, but nothing more.

What makes ICP exceptional is that they have a band name, an aptly named record label (Psychopathic Records), a name for their fans (Juggalos), and a maniacal cartoon (the hatchetman) to brand it all with. That’s why all of the Joker’s Card faces are so crucial to the success of Insane Clown Posse.

If it weren’t for Insane Clown Posse member Shaggy 2 Dope sitting down and sketching the now famous hatchetman logo on a napkin back when the band was just getting started, ICP gear would not have nearly the significance it does today.

Product Variety

Aside from having multiple brands, the objective for every band should be to have as many individual products to sell as possible. If we were to list all of the hatchetman-branded ICP gear items out, it would take up multiple pages. The fact is, Insane Clown Posse members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope realized the importance of diversifying their line of ICP gear early on, and today, there’s a multitude of ICP gear out there.

ICP Gear Diversification

Yes, Insane Clown Posse has branded traditional items like clothing, jewelry and accessories with the hatchetman as part of their ICP gear line. And, also to be expected, ICP’s gear line is stocked with all of the music and other media like books and movies they’ve put out under the Insane Clown Posse name over the years.

Not to be expected -- and this is what makes them so unique among bands today – is the collectibles section they’ve built into the ICP gear line. Insane Clown Posse comic books and action figures based on characters in those comic books have become something that diehard Juggalos pine for regularly.

Insane Clown Posse have even gotten creative with their traditional ICP gear items like clothing, extending it to include items like backpacks, wallets, and school supplies. Back to branding, much of these items are stamped with a Joker’s Card face or the hatchetman.

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Horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse have made a name for themselves not only in music, but also through their impressive merchandise line of ICP gear, mostly branded with the famous hatchetman and joker’s cards faces. To learn more aboutICP Gear or the hatchetman, please visit the band’s website at http://insaneclownposse.com/

Juggalo Documentary: A Family Underground

How many artists can boast that they have an entire musical festival to their name? Or a giant family of underground followers. Very few, but Insane Clown Posse can!

Gathering of the Juggalos is one of the largest music festivals in the country, and has been around for 12 years. Every year, tens of thousands of Juggalos (referred to as a family underground when spoken of collectively) flock to the Gathering of the Juggalos music festival, hosted somewhere in the Midwest.

And the family underground knows how to party. Don’t believe it? Just watch the 2008 documentary A Family Underground.

“Whoop whoops,” oil wrestling, late night parties and more are all documented in A Family Underground. The film does a great job of providing insight into the legitimate family that horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse has created. The Family Underground label isn’t just because it’s a large group of fans in the same place at the same time; there’s more to it than Insane Clown Posse appreciation.

The Gathering of the Juggalos Family Reunion

As Juggalos explain in A Family Underground, the family terminology is used because there’s a sense of unity amongst Juggalos. They all feel misunderstood, and have had to face enough BS in life that coming together with like-minded people creates a wonderful sense of belonging. One festival attendee in the documentary says there’s incredible openness between Juggalos too; people talk about their problems like they were having heart to heart conversations with life-long friends.

It doesn’t hurt that the Juggalos who make up the Family Underground have a lot in common with each other either. They’re fans of Insane Clown Posse’s music, horror rap in general, wrestling, Faygo soda, face paint, and causing mayhem. Put these people in the same enclosed area for four days in August and it will be unforgettable.

That’s not to say they come from many different walks of life. The video loosely follows a British couple in their early 30s around who took time off from work to come to the Gathering of the Juggalos. When Shaggy 2 Dope drives by in a golf cart, both of the Brits say they can go home happy now, and are visibly in awe for a considerable amount of time after. If that wasn’t good enough, the couple is unofficially married by Insane Clown Posse member Violent J at the end of the video.

In fact, wrestling has been so ingrained in the Gathering of the Juggalos music festival and Insane Clown Posse culture that there’s a wrestling league within it all. Juggalo Championship Wrestling (originally Juggalo Championshit Wrestling) plays host to epic rematches and world famous WWF wrestlers at every Gathering of the Juggalos festival. Blood and guts galore are displayed to much delight.

Juggalo Empire is Only Growing

Insane Clown Posse members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope deserve a lot of credit for doing what they’ve done. Not many artists can say they’ve yet or ever will build a cult-like following consisting of fans as devoted as the Family Underground. With the 12th Insane Clown Posse album releasing in 2012, there’s no end to the Family Underground’s expansion in sight.

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A Family Underground is a 2008 documentary directed by Paul Andresen about the Insane Clown Posse’s musical subculture. Featuring interviews with similar artists, fans in attendance and local bystanders, it provides an insider view to this hidden Family Underground. To learn more Insane Clown Posse, or their Juggalo followers and the Family Underground as a whole, please visit their website at http://insaneclownposse.com/!