The Beginning Of The Insane Clown Posse Music

The popular American hip hop duo, the Insane Clown Posse, was formed in the late 1980s by Joseph Utsler and Joseph Bruce. The two grew up in Detroit, Michigan where much of the inspiration for the Insane Clown Posse music and lyrics were derived.

How It All Began

It may sound very odd to most people to find out that the duo got started with their partnership, not in rap music, but in backyard wrestling. While in their late teens, they got hooked with wrestling and they constructed their own backyard rings. But soon afterward, they found they had talent in composing rap songs and performing so together with Utsler’s brother, John, they decided to form the JJ Boys and released the single “Party at the Top of the Hill”. It was just for fun to them with no serious intention of making rap music their main career.

They soon formed a gang which they called the Inner City Posse. It was a bleak moment in their lives as it got them into some skirmishes with the law and eventually got them jailed. They then realized they had to do something more meaningful and so they decided to focus on their rap music. It was Bruce who came up with the name Insane Clown Posse with his desire to retain the ICP initials. He got the name from a dream he had of a clown that was running around the city.

The initial Insane Clown Posse music style was more of gangsta rap. However, they got influenced by the style of Esham, another rapper, which was called acid rap They took up with that style and added horror themed lyrics to their songs.

During the production of their debut album, “Carnival of Carnage”, John Utsler decided to leave the group citing that he needed more time to attend to his family. The demand for his time and energy during their live performances and including the production of the album has taken its toll on him.

On October of 1992, the “Carnival of Carnage” was finally released with just the city of Detroit as its initial main distribution area. But with the years it soon gain popularity and finally became eligible for gold record certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) by 2010. Back then there were already fans who wanted their own Insane Clown Posse merch as a proof that the duo’s popularity is rising.

They experienced the most surge in their popularity with their second album, “Ringmaster”. They were soon being associated with what is Detroit rap and their concerts were being sold out left and right.

For the next decade, they released even more albums: Riddle Box, The Great Milenko, The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, Bizaar, Bizaar; The Wraith: Shangri-La, Hell’s Pit, The Tempest, and Bang! Pow! Boom!.

Live On Stage Acts

Insane Clown Posse is known for its flamboyant, over the top, and and elaborate concert performances. Aside from their clown makeups, one fixture in all of their performances are the spraying of Faygo soft drinks into the crowd and also the hurling of the bottles even to the audience. The duo had been drinking that brand of soft drink since they were kids and continued to do so even while they are performing.

After 20 years since they started, the Insane Clown Posse music is still alive and beating. There seems to be no end in sight with their level of energy and lyrical ideas to produce more hit hip hop singles. There will continuously be a demand for their insanely creative band merch for their fans to collect and wear.