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Insane clown posse, ailing violent j announce ‘farewell tour’.

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There’ll be no more clowning around . 

Insane Clown Posse has announced their farewell tour amid rock star Violent J’s severe heart failure diagnosis. 

“It’s very embarrassing and very not cool to have to say you’re taking a step backward,” J, 49, told fans during the annual Gathering of the Juggalos music festival in Ohio over the weekend. 

“This doesn’t mean I’m going to die or anything like that,” the “Hokus Pokus” performer assured the crowd in a video posted to YouTube , adding that it “means basically we can’t do things the way we used to do them.”

“We can’t really tour no more the way we were touring,” he continued, adding that the concert series will be a “slow tour,” consisting of only “three or four shows a week.”

Owing to his declining health, Violent J — real name Joseph Bruce — revealed that he and bandmate Shaggy 2 Dope, a k a 47-year-old Joseph Utsler, will be taking their act around the globe one final time in 2022.  

“We’re gonna do one more tour next year around the world,” J said, according to Loudwire . “We’re gonna do the United States, and then we’re gonna go to Europe, Canada and Australia.

“It’s gonna be a farewell tour.”

The Detroit native went on to detail the gravity of his harrowing heart condition.  

“For those of you that haven’t been to my house,” the emcee said to the audience. “The studio is probably 40 yards from my front door. I noticed walking out to the studio every day, by the time I got to the f – – king studio, I was winded.”

His incapacities didn’t stop there. 

“Then when I’d walk up to my mailbox, I’d be like, ‘Oh f – – k, I’ve got to take a break.’ What the f – – k’s the problem?” J added. 

After suffering in silence for several weeks, the “Boogie Woogie Wu” rhymer went to the hospital for testing. 

Doctors ultimately determined that he had severe atrial fibrillation —or AFib — which is a sustained cardiac arrhythmia that causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat at an extremely rapid and irregular pace. 

“That scared the s – – t out of me,” J said of his diagnosis. 

He explained that physicians placed him on a number of medications and subjected him to several intense medical procedures. 

During one procedure, specialists entered the body through his leg in order to burn off a scar that had formed on his heart due to the irregular beating. 

“They burned the scar off,” he said. “And when I woke up, they said, ‘your [heart is] beating normal. But it could flip back at any moment from now until six years from now.’ ”

And although J admitted that his doctors advised against regularly performing live shows, he guaranteed ICP fans that his ailing heart won’t stop the music. 

“[This] don’t mean we’re not playing,” he said. “We’re gonna play every Juggalo weekend, every Hallowicked, every f – – king [Big Ballers Christmas Party], every event.”

The clown-crazy crowd cheered as J expounded on the “Neden Game” group’s plans to continue rocking the microphone.    

“We’re gonna do a show somewhere every month — one show a month is our plan,” he said. “I want to make it clear: making music is not affected in any way, shape or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise.”

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Insane Clown Posse Announces Farewell Tour Due to Violent J’s Heart Issues

By Ethan Shanfeld

Ethan Shanfeld

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Insane Clown Posse announced that its 2022 tour will be the duo’s last, as Violent J revealed his serious heart issues.

During the Gathering of the Juggalos over the weekend at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, Violent J said that while Insane Clown Posse will retire from touring, he and Shaggy 2 Dope will still perform at one-off shows each month and will continue to release new music.

“I want to make it clear, making music is not affected in any way, shape or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise,” the 49-year-old rapper said.

Revealing that he started feeling “winded” during the 40-foot walk from his house to the studio, Violent J said, “We went to the hospital to see what’s going on. They did an ultrasound. The lady who was looking at my heart, we could tell she was tripping about something, but she wasn’t a doctor. The doctors were all tied up upstairs in the hospital, understandably. She told me, ‘They want you to go straight home, get in bed and they’ll call you first thing in the morning.'”

The rapper added, “They called before the birds even woke up and fucking told me to go to the hospital. They took me in the back and shit, and basically they just came out and told me I have heart failure. That scared the shit out of me.”

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Violent J said he has since undergone various procedures for atrial fibrillation, which is defined as an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular complications.

Insane Clown Posse plans to hit the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia next year. The duo also announced their next show will take place in September, and their next album will come out on Halloween.

Watch the full announcement below.

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Cult hip hop crew from Detroit, USA, Insane Clown Posse, have been unnerving audiences for over twenty years with their distinct brand of horrorcore and trademark clown outfits.

Childhood friends Joseph Bruce and Joseph Ulster met in the suburbs of Detroit, where they would go on to form the gang, Inner City Posse, getting up to mischief and committing crimes which eventually led to Bruce's arrest and imprisonment. The group had begun performing and writing music but Bruce initially was motivated towers a professional wrestling career, although he became disillusioned after only a couple of years.

Having reunited with Utsler and the rest of the gang, they became to pursue a musical career more seriously, performing at local club nights as the Inner City Posse. Struggling to make money with their performances and releases, the group decided to try and move away from their gangsta-rap style and move towards emulating the horrorcore style of artist Esham. With the change of style, they decided to rename themselves as the Insane Clown Posse.

The group slowly built success, with a debut album, "Carnival of Carnage" (1992) that met with average reviews before fairing better with their second and third releases, EP "Beverly Kills 50187" and second full length "Ringmaster" (1994). It wasn't until their 1996 album, released through Disney's record label, Hollywood Records that Insane Clown Posse gained success, reaching number 63 in the Billboard 200, with the album eventually being certified platinum and selling 1.7 million copies, following its rerelease on Island/PolyGram Records.

Mainstream success arrived in 1999 with their record, "The Amazing Jeckel Brothers" which reached number four on the Billboard Charts, finding a growing fan base for their brand of hardcore hip hop and shock metal. They have developed a strong fan base, with their music achieving cult status. Their legions of fans describe themselves as 'Juggalos,' with Insane Clown Posse organising an annual 'Gathering of the Juggalos,' a festival for their fans and other affiliated artists.

With a steady release of records, Insane Clown Posse have achieved significant success, selling 6.5 million records in the United States. Their fan base is so dedicated that it caused the FBI to describe the 'Juggalos' as "a loosely organised hybrid gang" in a report in 2012, which prompted the members of Insane Clown Posse to sue the FBI for their assertion.

Live reviews

I'll start by saying that I have been a fan of ICP for around 18 years, their recent albums may not have captured me in the same way as their earlier work but I still enjoy their output and had huge expectations for their return to the UK.

I was fortunate enough to attend their gig 14 years ago in London and as such had an idea of what to expect, however nothing truly prepares you for an ICP gig...

Within minutes of entering the venue the the sense of a festival atmosphere was present with artists already on stage, this continued with an array of support forgoing the traditional lengthy gaps and instead operating an almost seamless set of different artists until the stage was concealed behind thick plastic sheeting in preparation for the main event.

The support were entertaining to excellent and Mushroom head, who shared top billing, were truly amazing, creating a work of visual mastery acting as a demented metal based blue man group with colourful drums filled with liquid and a synchronicity between band members again calling to mind a choreographed west end show not a metal band. However Mushroom head, decked in their unique uniforms truly personify theatricality in metal and after a similarly long absence from the UK as ICP, expectations were high and they delivered. Opening with Qwerty was also a master touch as this set the scene and left little choice but to be drawn into their performance.

When the aforementioned curtain was finally erected i was front row, a feat I was unable to achieve 14 years previous and one I honestly did not expect to achieve this night. This only served to heighten the anticipation and excitement as the crowd began chanting as the demented riddle box era circus music played serving as a short intro to the abrupt drop of the thick plastic curtain revealing two of the longest serving hip hop artists in the world today.

Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope who looked as though they hadn't aged in the intervening years, opened with Hokus Pokus from The Great Milenko, a song I, and the vast majority of the surrounding juggalos knew the words too and immediately drew a booming reaction from the crowd. Thankfully, despite some of their more recent output having merit, ICP choose a set consisting almost entirely of their well known classics, this was well received by the partisan juggalos audience, who like I, seemed to be largely long serving fans who's favourite ICP moments consisted of Riddle Box, Milenko, Jeckel Bros and the nearby eras.

Of course as is to be expected from an ICP show I was soaked in faygo within seconds of them taking the stage, I somehow managed to avoid this when seeing them previously. It does add to the show in a strange way, as long as you avoid taking a direct hit in the eyes which isn't overly pleasant. As the show continued we became steadily wetter as a variety of characters and girls took the stage and assisted ICP in soaking the audience in faygo. The show was a constant assault of classic songs punctuated with faygo showers, a seamless carnival cavalcade from a band who know their art and shows this in a well produced and flawless presentation. As the night drew to a close we were left with the cold walk to the station, sticky and wet from the nights events but satisfied in the knowledge that the world's most "hated" band had once more performed in front of one of the world's most dedicated fan bases and exceeded all expectations.

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We all know how much shit these two guys get for what they do, but love them or hate them, they know their fans and what they came to see. They come out doing their thing, throwing overflowing 2-liter bottles of Faygo diet root beer into the audience as they mosh furiously.

I got pretty soaked and after about 10 minutes of being in that pit, I had to get out because I was being thrown around so hard. By the time I got out, my hair and shirt were covered in root beer. This WOULD be upsetting, but, those considerate clowns use DIET Faygo root beer, so it's not sticky at all, has the consistency of water and doesn't burn if it gets in your eyes. It makes it far more fun and less stressful.

As for the actual performance, they're doing the thing they've always done, the thing they love to do and they've clearly got the idea down because they really put on one hell of a show. They don't leave it all to themselves, too, (dressed in horror-style clown outfits) come out throwing confetti, streamers, more bottles of Faygo and even entire buckets full of Faygo into the crowd. They also didn't stop there, keeping it fresh by inviting all the female fans (Juggalettes) on stage with them to keep showering the crowd with Faygo, and later, during the last song, basically anyone that wanted to be onstage was allowed up there, it seemed. It was total anarchy, but it was pretty amazing to watch and was never truly out of hand.

Overall, they put on a damn good show, and not only do the duo themselves make sure it's a show to remember, but the loyal fanbase of Juggalos that come out to see them make sure of it to. It doesn't matter how much of the music you know or which acts you came to see, if you're there, you're a part of the family. Say what you will about the Insane Clown Posse, their label and Juggalos, but they are some kickass people and make for a night to remember.

I’m not even sure where to start with Insane Clown Posse, so perhaps I should point out that, as much as anything else, they represent a three-way battle for the title of funniest rap moniker of all time, with the duo’s band name facing stiff competition from the individual stage names of Violent J and (my favourite) Shaggy 2 Dope. Probably best known for a feud with Eminem that began when the superstar was a relative unknown in the late nineties, the pair’s music has often been eclipsed by the prominence of their followers, the makeup-heavy Juggalos; it’s important to remember, then, that they’ve had two platinum records, and shifted in excess of six and a half million albums worldwide, too. With their most recent album, Freaky Tales, dropping in 2012, they’ve continued to tour, and as you’d expect, their live shows are suitably ridiculous affairs; their most recent shows, as evidenced by the footage of their annual Gathering of the Juggalos festival on YouTube, involved hordes of costumed juggalo dancers, a huge firework display and an onstage water fight. They rarely visit the UK, a wrong that at least 233 people, according to the Facebook campaign dedicated to the cause, believe should be righted immediately; maybe head over there and lend your support if you agree.

This was my 2nd ICP concert. I said this after the first concert and I'll say it again, I will go to every single show of theirs that I possibly can from now on. The energy is nothing short of insane and amazing. Juggalos are often judged and put down, but I'm here to tell you that these are some of the most friendly people I have EVER met. I read a review of their concerts before the first one I attended and it said "This is not a show that you go and simply watch, this is a show that you participate in." That is exactly correct, and it is amazing. Check them out, I bet you walk out a fan of them. If you do go then be prepared, you will be soaked in Faygo. Wear clothes that you are ok with getting wet, if you take your phone in then take a clear plastic sandwich bag to put it in or make sure you have a damn good phone case and bring lots and lots of baby wipes...you will be grateful for them after the show when you're trying to clean the sticky Faygo off of your skin. Best concert I've ever been to.

The Insane Clown Posse just aren't what they used to be. Their newer music is absolute crap and even some of the most hardcore cult members, I mean Juggalos, weren't drinking the CoolAid.

All the lighting effects, background design, hype clowns, and Faygo being tossed couldn't hide the fact that Violent J had no energy. He ballooned to what I'm guessing is over 350lbs and looked like a caricature of himself. He even used a mic stand most of the set. Yes, a rapper stood there and used a mic stand. ICP, being who they are, still brought some talent with them. I got to see the remnants of Three 6 Mafia and they were amazing. Absolute legends and kinda funny between songs too. Mushroomhead is one of the best metal bands around and the crowd was all in for their set. They wrote black light paint on their masks and it looked absolutely wicked. It's a shame their set was limited to about 30 minutes because the headliners, ICP, needed 90 to act like they're still relevant.

I just dont understand how I became a juggalo, I didn't even care for rap much except for stuff like F the police maybe some beastie boys, I'll even admit Run DMC....but I've even played karaoke versions of these guys songs to people who didn't know wtf I was playing and they agree musically these tracks are amazing, but lyrics only means you still have tons of material for stand up comedy. On stage it is something you just won't see any other way and I've been following some of the first bands in LA to even do a stage show so I've seen some way out stuff....but the first time I saw these guys live made it clear to me that I have to see them each time I can from then on. So tonight's gig was 3rd time and it's still surreal to me even when I try to explain to others wtf an icp gig is like. If you are even contemplating because of the ticket price, it will make perfect sense while you watch the show where the money goes.

Don't know if anyone reads this shit but here goes.

This is the first time I have gone to an ICP show. I was introduced to them in 1999 watching them on PPV Woodstock 99. They are the only performers I remember watching because they stood out from ALL the rest.

I have been to hundreds of shows over the last 35 years. I had tickets to see ICP a couple of years ago but couldn't make the show unfortunately. Well I made it to this show and I can tell you it was AWSOME. Without long exacting details I would put it like this..... Regardless of whether you like ICP or not, this is a show to be a part of!!! You do not watch the show, you participate in it.

Until you understand the "Faygo Rain", I can't explain more.

My very first icp concert. Iam 56 yrs old and i have never been to one of icp concerts.bA friend said if icp ever came to austin we would go see them.they came to austin in sept 2016 and we went. Oh what a damn party i had so much fun best concert ever been to. I got to meet a guy i just lv on action bronson not only meet but held his hand for a few seconds durning concert. Second was i was asked to get on stage with icp while they were playing.my friend who has seen them n is a juggalo was so surprised. Thank you guys for making my night the best time ever.i would go see u ten times over in fact told my friend if u had played nxt night i would of been there dancing along. Thks again deanna hudson from round rock tx

The icp slamfest was epic! Ive been down with the clown for 25years and thus is the 1st time ive been abke to see them. I made the trip from Boise to Bend, Oregon for it. I upgraded to vip so i could get the full experience. I was able to meet and talk with Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J and they are great guys and show a lot of love to their fans. I got to go on stage for Faygo Armageddon and it was such a blast! Soaked in diet root beer Faygo. The whole thing was just euphoric. The whole show from start to finish was great. You dont have to be a fan if icp but the experience of their shows will have you coming back for more. Be prepared to get a Faygo baptism! Whoop Whoop! Down with the clown 4 life!

I have been listening to I.c.p.for quite sometime now and they have made a huge impact on my life and 1 night I actually got to shake the hand of shaggy 2 dope and i was soo in awe that my brain locked up and I didn't know w.t.f. to say besides " I was just listening to ringmaster this morning" I mean, wtf. Here is shaggy 2 dope along with Ouija and I think violent J was there at the aquarium in Gatlinburg,TN. I really wish I had that moment all over again. It would definitely turn out the juggalo way. We would definitely go chicken huntin!!! Forks up forks down all the way!! ...Gary Thompson

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Insane Clown Posse Reveal Initial Lineup for 2023 Gathering of the Juggalos

Insane Clown Posse have revealed the initial lineup for the 2023 edition of the longtime horrorcore group's signature "Gathering of the Juggalos" rock and hip-hop festival, as  ThePRP  reported.

Insane Clown Posse and Alien Art Farm will play the main stage during the July 5–9 event at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio. Dozens more acts will also play, with even more to be announced later.

Bringing major throwback vibes, The Gathering of the Juggalos 2023 will be themed around Insane Clown Posse's 1999–2000 "Wicked Clowns From Outer Space Tour" and will feature two sets from the group. Get your tickets at juggalogathering.com .

"HOLY ONE-EYED MARS MONSTER!" Insane Clown Posse said alongside a promotional video for the 2023 fest . "Like a souped-up space caddy slammin' out of warp drive." See the clip below.

READ MORE:  When Fans Get Too Obsessed

"Get ready to engage thrusters to lock in your spot at the 3-day festival of freshness that is The Gathering of the Juggalos!" Insane Clown Posse continued. "Seminars, concerts, contests, and non-stop party action will be yours to experience!"

Juggalo Gathering Initial 2023 Lineup

At what will be the 23rd annual Gathering of the Juggalos, the "Intergalactic Stage" will host Insane Clown Posse and Alien Ant Farm with Arrested Development, City Morgue, Esham & Mastamind as Natas, Hexxx, Krizz Kaliko, Kung Fu Vampire, Ouija Macc and Whitney Peyton.

The "Martian Stage" will feature R.A. The Rugged Man With DJ Lala, Abstrakt, Babble the Demon, Barz!, Belushi Speed Ball, Benny Buttonz, Big Fluff, Darby O’Trill, Facetatmami, Freeze MF, Gunnerb, Heathensun, Jvnebvg, Kace Cayne, Kingsmen, Matt Foy, NGS, Redefind, Rob Zilla, Seenloc, Shilow, The Coursing, The God Bombs, The Human Tragedy, Tierre Diaz, Trey Magic With Splice (Doctors Of Doom), Tso Ghostly, Wil E. Haze & Faygo Gang, Zitro and Zombi3cult

More artists will reportedly be announced later. Under the video, see a list of other 2023 festivals. Get  Loudwire's newsletter and Loudwire's app .

Gathering of the Juggalos 2023 Video

2023 rock + metal music festival guide, more from loudwire.

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Insane Clown Posse Announce Farewell Tour Due to Violent J’s Serious Heart Issues

Insane Clown Posse  revealed the hip-hop duo will retire from touring after next year's farewell jaunt as Violent J disclosed he had serious heart…

By Heran Mamo

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Insane Clown Posse  revealed the hip-hop duo will retire from touring after next year’s farewell jaunt as Violent J disclosed he had serious heart issues.

During last weekend’s Gathering of the Juggalos at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, Violent J reassured the crowd that he and Shaggy 2 Dope will still perform one-off shows every month and will continue to release music, saying, “I want to make it clear, making music is not affected in any way, shape or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise.” The 49-year-old MC revealed that he was notably feeling “winded” every time he walked from his house to the studio, which he said was about a 40-foot walk.

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“We went to the hospital to see what’s going on. They did an ultrasound. The lady who was looking at my heart, we could tell she was tripping about something, but she wasn’t a doctor. The doctors were all tied up upstairs in the hospital, understandably. She told me, ‘They want you to go straight home, get in bed and they’ll call you first thing in the morning,'” Violent J recalled. “They called before the birds even woke up and f—ing told me to go to the hospital. They took me in the back and sh–, and basically they just came out and told me I have heart failure. That scared the sh– out of me.”

Ohio Man Sues After Legless Juggalo Crashes Into Him With a Golf Cart at Insane Clown Posse…

He explained how he underwent various procedures for atrial fibrillation, which the American Heart Association defines as the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beating irregularly instead of beating effectively to move blood into the ventricles. The irregular or quivering heartbeat affiliated with a-fib can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

After 25 years of touring, the group plans to set out for one last tour next year, which will include the United States and then Europe, Canada and Australia. Violent J announced ICP will perform their next show sometime at the end of September. “We’re coming on that stage fully f—ing ’80s rocked out!” Violent J said. The group also confirmed their next record will be out on Halloween.

Watch Insane Clown Posse’s announcement below.

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Insane Clown Posse announce farewell world tour due to Violent J's heart condition

The hip-hop duo plan to continue making music.

Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don't make fun of her accent when it slips out.

The horrorcore hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse have announced a farewell world tour after Violent J revealed he has a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation (or A-fib), a heart-rhythm abnormality.

At ICP's Gathering of the Juggalos festival over the weekend , Violent J (real name: Joseph Bruce) told the crowd that due to his ongoing heart issues, he has to take a step back from touring with his partner, Shaggy 2 Dope. But first, ICP will go on one last tour beginning in the United States before moving on to Canada, Europe, and Australia, with the dates spread out to make things easier on Violent J's health.

While onstage at Gathering of the Juggalos , Violent J explained how he started to notice he was getting winded while doing simple tasks like walking to his mailbox or the short distance between his house and studio. When he went to the doctor to get checked out, he was told he "had heart failure" and "the more serious" form of A-fib.

"This don't mean anything like I'm going to die or anything like that," he told the crowd. "It just means that basically we can't do things the way we used to do. We can't really tour no more the way we were touring. We're going to do one more tour next year around the world… but it's going to be a slow tour, like three or four shows a week."

Violent J went on to reassure fans that even after the farewell tour, ICP will still play at major events like Gathering of the Juggalos. "We're pretty much going to do a show somewhere every month," he said. "I want to make it clear making music is not affected in any way, shape, or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise. We're ready to kick ass in the f---ing studio, and that's a fact."

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Insane Clown Posse's Violent J reveals heart condition; group announces farewell tour

The long-running Detroit rap duo Insane Clown Posse had a pair of bombshell announcements for fans this weekend.

The group’s Violent J, addressing a crowd Saturday afternoon at the 21st Gathering of the Juggalos in Ohio, revealed he was recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a condition involving abnormal heart rhythm.

Violent J, the charismatic 49-year-old born Joseph Bruce, told fans his heart issue “means basically we can’t do things the way we used to do them.” 

With longtime music partner Shaggy 2 Dope and his brother, Robert Bruce, alongside him onstage, Violent J said ICP will be scaling back its concert activity from here out.

That will include a farewell tour next year with dates in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia — albeit at a lighter pace than normal for the longtime road warriors. Calling it a “slow tour,” Violent J said ICP will play three or four shows a week.

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He said his doctors are “not too amped on me doing shows, period. But it’s not a wise move to get out and play six nights a week with (the heart) situation.”

Saturday’s announcement came on the final afternoon of the three-day gathering, held this year in Thornville, Ohio. The freewheeling annual festival draws ICP fans from across the country — “Juggalos,” in the group’s parlance — for camping, special activities, and performances by the duo and associated acts.

Violent J and Shaggy said the tour won’t be the end of their performing career. The group would continue to play once a month and stage its special events, including its yearly Gatherings and the Hallowicked show held annually in Detroit in October.

Moreover, the 2022 farewell tour may not be the only one, Violent J joked.

“I always thought it would be cool to do a farewell tour like Kiss does,” he said. “And then do another one two years later.”

The group also said it will continue to make music regardless, saying, “We’re ready to kick (expletive) in the studio.”

Violent J said his heart condition was diagnosed after he found himself frequently winded during short walks on his property in Farmington Hills. He described an alarming series of hospital visits that included an emergency fibrillation.

A later ablation procedure managed to correct his abnormal heart rhythm, he said, but it doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods: The condition could manifest at any point.

ICP, which formed in 1989 initially as Inner City Posse, was one of Detroit’s first breakout rap acts, becoming heavyweights in the horrorcore subgenre. With its distinctive clown makeup, a “Dark Carnival” mythology woven through more than a dozen albums, and periodic spikes of controversy for its violent imagery, the group fostered a devoted Juggalo audience.

The group also proved its chops on the entrepreneurial side, building a label (Psychopathic Records), a merchandising mini-empire and even a wrestling division at its Farmington Hills headquarters.

Shaggy 2 Dope vowed that Saturday’s news doesn’t mean the demise of Insane Clown Posse.

“The last 30 years were just a warmup,” he said.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or [email protected].

Insane Clown Posse fans are known for their scary clown costumes and face paint, but the Juggalos say they’re a family that’s just misunderstood

• Juggalos are fans of the horrorcore-rap duo Insane Clown Posse.
• The subculture is characterized by wearing face paint and dressing up as clowns.
• Many Juggalos say they want to subvert class hierarchies and build a familial community.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

This month, Juggalos came together for their 21st annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Thornville, Ohio. The hardcore fans of horrorcore-rap duo Insane Clown Posse are known for wearing intense face paint, dressing as clowns, donning hatchet symbols, and drinking Faygo soda .

While it's hard to track the exact number of attendees, previous Gatherings have drawn upwards of 20,000 people, organizers told the IndyStar in 2019.

But decades into the existence of the Insane Clown Posse fandom, it remains largely misunderstood by mainstream society. The community was named by the FBI as a non-traditional gang in its 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment.

For the last decade, the Insane Clown Posse and the Juggalos — alongside the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan in an unsuccessful 2014 lawsuit — have fought this label. Juggalos say their real culture is one that seeks to upend class hierarchies while building a community founded upon familial bonds . 

JessieJayne Dough, a Juggalette (a female Juggalo) from Pennsylvania, attended the Gathering for the first time this year. 

"To me at least, there's no level of love and community and just people being able to safely and happily be themselves, however weird or different it might be, than what I experience at any ICP show," Dough told Insider. 

The subculture persists despite its reputational challenges.

The Juggalos are fans of the Insane Clown Posse, a rap duo whose albums tell stories in a fictional universe

In the simplest terms, Juggalos are fans of the Insane Clown Posse, the rap duo founded by Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler) in Detroit in the early 1990s. They are  predominately white and working-class, and many say they feel like outcasts from mainstream society . As Vox reported in 2017, a Juggalo is just a fan in the same way a Belieber or Swiftie is devoted to Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, respectively. 

The Insane Clown Posse (often called "ICP") — who recently announced next year's tour will be their last —  are known for having developed a complex musical universe of symbols, themes, and aesthetics that have become the basis for the Juggalo community. 

In their first album, 1992's "Carnival of Carnage," the duo introduced the narrative of a traveling carnival of spirits who enter upper-class neighborhoods to punish the rich for their crimes against the working class. 

With each subsequent album, Insane Clown Posse has introduced new characters, like the Ringmaster, the Great Milenko, and The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, each of whom has their own story and function within the greater arc of the Dark Carnival, or the extended Insane Clown Posse musical universe. Each group of albums is referred to as a Joker's Card, and the "juggalo" moniker originated from an off-hand comment during a concert performance of the song "The Juggla."

There are no official numbers for how many people identify as Juggalos, though the FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment reported that there were 1 million self-identifying Juggalos and Juggalettes.

There's also evidence that many homeless youth identify as Juggalos, "because the group's music embraces poverty and being an outsider in mainstream society," according to a 2017 study  published in the Child Psychiatry & Human Development , a scientific journal, which also found that "Juggalos are stereotyped as being violent, undereducated, poor, racist, crime-committing youth." 

Insane Clown Posse music is horror-themed, but not without purpose 

Much of the music in the Dark Carnival is indeed violent and horror-themed, with songs about chopping up bodies or murdering an entire family in hopes of luring one's ghost lover back. 

But this terror is often a metaphorical expression of anger in light of systematic oppression. 

Juggalos say they aren't about literal violence, despite the 2014 FBI report, which highlighted a handful of minor crimes committed by fans of the Insane Clown Posse as "sporadic, disorganized, individualistic."

 Most Juggalos assert that their community is more about peace and love than the hatchet symbols and scary clown costumes might suggest. 

I got into it all by total accident but the community, the people, the music — it saved me a little, it gave me hope. JessieJayne Dough, a Juggalette

The community comes together for the annual Gathering of the Juggalos, the multi-day music festival featuring numerous performers, wrestling matches, parties, and generally carnivalesque behavior, culminating in an Insane Clown Posse performance in which typically everyone gets sprayed with Faygo, a soda brand popular in the midwest. 

This year, the Gathering was held from August 19 to 22. The Daily Beast reported that the festival was "slightly scaled-down" from previous years due to COVID-19, though writer-photographer Igor Smith cited Juggalos hugging as the primary activity he witnessed throughout the festival. "Jackass" member Steve-O and Chris Hansen of "To Catch a Predator" made appearances, and Vanilla Ice, Danny Brown, and Juggalo rapper Ouija Macc were among the performers. 

Research has suggested that the annual Gathering fosters a community bond

The clown facepaint many Juggalos adorn during the festival, as well as practices like spraying Faygo, may actually serve to enhance the community bond. Face-painting, in particular, serves to designate Juggalos as part of their own community , separate from the rest of society, and offers a unique method of bonding and creative expression. It's something Insane Clown Posse themselves have done for nearly every public appearance since their beginning.

These unique rituals are something the late sociologist Karen Bettez Halnon explored in reference to the Gathering and other music festivals, describing them as embodying what she coined as "grotesque realism."

As Halnon explained in her research , acts like costuming and becoming sticky with soda function like uniting rituals among Juggalos. Anyone can be a Juggalo, but to do so requires aligning with an aesthetic that challenges social norms. Quite literally, being a Juggalo requires making a clown of oneself. For that reason, though, the theme of family is paramount — if you're down with the clown, as they say, you've got an extended family thousands of Juggalos strong. 

"I got into it all by total accident but the community, the people, the music — it saved me a little, it gave me hope," JessieJayne, the Juggalette, told Insider.

"There's nothing like the way these shows and everything about the Gathering make you feel. It's really like family on so many levels."

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Insane Clown Posse's Violent J reveals heart condition to fans, announces farewell tour

Violent j told the crowd that due to his recent heart issues, he and shaggy 2 dope would no longer be going on tour.

Violent J , one half of the musical circus better known as the Insane Clown Posse , says the band’s touring days are coming to an end. Speaking to a crowd of fans at this year’s Gathering Of The Juggalos , Violent J revealed that the group’s next tour would be their last due to his ongoing heart issues . However, this would no stop them from making music or performing one-off shows each month. So rest assured, you have not heard the last of the Insane Clown Posse.

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“Nobody escapes the trials and tribulations of being a human,” Violent J said. “This don’t mean anything like I’m going to die or anything like that. It just means that we can’t do things the way we used to do. So I just really don’t want to announce this, but we really can’t tour the way we were touring. We’re going to do one more tour next year, around the world. We’re going to go to all the major markets in the United States and beat markets. And then we’re going to go to Europe and Canada and Australia, but it’s going to be a slow tour. It’s only going to be like three or four shows a week, and that’s going to be a farewell tour.”

“I want to make it clear, making music is not affected in any way, shape or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise,” said Violent J.

The 49-year-old rapper revealed the severity of his heart condition to the crowd, saying that he had “heart failure.” After feeling “winded” from the 40-yard walk between his house and the studio, Violent J said that he went to the hospital. “They did an ultrasound. The lady who was looking at my heart, we could tell she was tripping about something, but she wasn’t a doctor. The doctors were all tied up upstairs in the hospital, understandably. She told me, ‘They want you to go straight home, get in bed and they’ll call you first thing in the morning.’” At his follow-up, he continued, “They took me in the back and shit, and basically they just came out and told me I have heart failure. That scared the shit out of me.”

The news was understandably heartbreaking both for the members of the Posse and their loyal fans, the Juggalos. Nevertheless, Violent J continued to layout all the ways the group would stay in touch with their community— and, man, have they been successful community builders . Instead, the group will focus on new Patreon exclusives, new music, and the aforementioned one-off shows. This also doesn’t seem like the end of The Gathering Of The Juggalos, ICP’s yearly extravaganza.

According to Violent J, he and Shaggy 2 Dope have gone on two tours a year for the last 25. That’s a lot of Faygo. But to Violent J, we send a hearty “whoop whoop” and hope for the best regarding his health issues .

[via Rolling Stone ]

INSANE CLOWN POSSE

The founders of psychopathic records and perhaps the most notorious and controversial rap duo in the history of music, icp rose from being scrubs on the streets of detroit to becoming bona-fide pop culture icons and gold and platinum-selling recording artists. through sheer hard work and determination, icp has created a complete entertainment empire, including music, movies, sports entertainment (juggalo championship wrestling), groundbreaking music videos, and one of america’s longest-running underground music festivals, the gathering of the juggalos. far beyond a rap group, icp has proven themselves to be a worldwide phenomenon that will never be forgotten..

SONG: "SATELLITE" ARTIST: INSANE CLOWN POSSE

Album: fearless fred fury, released on february 15th 2019 available here.

© 2019 PSYCHOPATHIC RECORDS

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About Insane Clown Posse

When Insane Clown Posse emerged from the darkness surrounding Detroit’s underground music scene in the early '90s, the world had yet to imagine the impact that the hardcore hip-hop style spawned by these two artists - Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope - would bring to bear on mainstream music.

Shunned by mainstream music players like MTV, castigated in the media, and banned from radio airwaves, Insane Clown Posse was dealt a hand that seemed destined for swift and certain failure. Instead, the duo amassed a following of millions of fans endearingly called “Juggalos” and smashed through the ceiling of music industry expectation.

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