Press Kit

©2005 Psychopathic Records - All Rights Reserved

Psychopathic Records, Inc. P.O. Box 332 Royal Oak, MI 48068-0332 www.insaneclownposse.com www.psychopathicrecords.com www.hatchetgear.com

Critics of the Insane Clown Posse might see a gimmick, or a novelty act. Some might associate them with other colorful acts, or find them profane and inaccessible. But the music industry is built on innovation and creative freedom, and many theatrical acts have gained notoriety-though few of them garner the respect they deserve. Fewer still have endured into the modern sound, or captured a hip-hop fanbase. Not so with ICP. While many acts cling to nostalgia, and play to dwindling crowds of aging fans, ICP still appeal to

teenagers and retain the fans who started out with them over a decade ago. Some bands make concept albums, but ICP have made a concept career, and it is still going strong. Their Sept. 2004 release, Hell's Pit, debuted at #12 on the Billboard top 200, and sold 75,000 copies in its first week. A DVD enclosed with the album also earned ICP a world record, for the first ever 3-D movie filmed in High Definition. After 10 years in the business, ICP are still relevant and setting standards for independent music.

History and Achievements The Insane Clown Posse started in the nineties with a crew and a dream, running the streets in one of the roughest areas of Detroit. As they got rolling, the crew became Psychopathic Records, and the dream became a vision of six albums called "Joker's Cards." Fans throughout Detroit were drawn to their ruthless attitudes, perverted personas, and soda-soaked stage shows. Their followers became "Juggalos" and ICP became the biggest act in Detroit, and the emerging genre of "horror-rap."

a stint on MTV. The Amazing Jeckel Brothers album, which featured Snoop Dogg and Ol' Dirty Bastard (of Wu-Tang Clan), also went platinum after debuting at #4 on Billboard's Top 200. They became Hollywood stars in their own DVD movie, Big Money Hustlas, which has also gone platinum. That makes them multi-platinum. Howard Stern took an interest in the group, and they have appeared on his show a record thirteen times—more than any other band. They left the main stage at Woodstock '99 covered in Faygo.

After putting out their first two albums independently, they caught the attention of Hollywood Records, who offered them a major contract for their next album, The Great Milenko. Before long, Hollywood's parent company, Disney, came down on the clowns and demanded content alterations before they would release the album. Then, on the day of its release, and several hours into sales, Disney recalled the album and dropped the band. The recall leaked to the media, and suddenly the whole music industry was joining the Insane Clown Posse. A bidding war broke out, and ICP moved onto Island Records and into the big time.

Beyond music, the Clowns pursued a career in their other favorite field, professional wrestling. They have appeared on the WWF, WCW, ECW, TNA, and as if that weren't enough, they created and toured with their own wrestling circuit: JCW. They even starred in their own comic book series, and released the autobiography ICP: Behind the Paint. They are playable characters in the Backyard Wrestling video game and its sequel.

The Great Milenko went platinum, and ICP went worldwide. An ICP documentary video went platinum after

ICP's Dark Carnival inspired a music festival, and they created The Gathering of the Juggalos, which devastates the countryside every year. The fifth annual Gathering in 2004 saw over 12,000 in attendance.

Creative differences led ICP to separate from Island, and Psychopathic Records became a completely independent worldwide giant. They aligned with Sony's Red Distribution (North America) and Proper Distribution (Europe) to sell their records, and set up www.hatchetgear.com to coordinate one of the largest music merchandising operations in the world. In 2002, The Wraith: Shangri-La came out on Psychopathic, and is currently approaching Gold certification. In 2004 they released Hell's Pit, one of the most highly anticipated albums of their career. As with every album, they hit the

road on tour, and played to 250,000 people across America. The Juggalos are certainly still in the house; to quote their agent at the William Morris Agency: "Over 500,000 fans have seen ICP shows since 2001 across the US, Europe, and Australia at hundreds of sold out shows around the world." The Insane Clown Posse rolls on, and a growing fanbase turns toward a horizon which is only Calm for now… For ICP news and a more detailed history check out www.insaneclownposse.com.

Why Are They So Vulgar and Violent? To understand ICP, one must first appreciate the way urban reality and mystic fantasy come together in the ICP mythos. Originally, ICP were a Detroit street gang, until fear and incarceration eroded their membership. The remaining few tried to make it as a rap group. This too, proved difficult, until Joe "Violent J" Bruce had the dream of the Dark Carnival, a carnival of beings both malevolent and benevolent, who would allow him to express the conflict within him. Both Joe and Joey "Shaggy 2 Dope" Utsler came from struggling but loving households, but the gang lifestyle offered a darker reality and a more ambiguous morality. In the music, they harness their emotional reactions to violence and temper it with the values they learned at home. Their lyrics acknowledge the violence and vulgarity they have

encountered, amplified through carnival mystique to the point of caricature. They offer a healthy outlet for these experiences through power fantasies and horror stories, revealing their audience's worst experiences in a context so horrific, at times it's comical. Still, these scenarios are tempered by a moral code, with fictional violence used to punish the guilty and defend the innocent. The facepaint reasserts the fantasy. To quote Violent J: "I'm up here wearing clown makeup, who the hell thinks this is real?" The answer is ultimately left to the listener, but thousands of Juggalos worldwide will happily explain their devotion to the "family" they find at the same concerts where they chant "Who's Goin' Chicken Huntin'!?!"

Paint by Numbers Albums: 1993 Carnival of Carnage,

currently up for Gold certification.

1994 Ringmaster,

now certified Gold.

1995 Riddlebox,

now certified Gold.

1997 The Great Milenko, certified Platinum.

1998 Forgotten Freshness 1&2, certified Gold.

1999 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers,

currently up for Platinum certification.

2003 The Wraith: Shangri-La,

approaching Gold certification.

2004 Hell's Pit,

sells 75,000 the first week.

Videos: 1998 Shockumentary, certified platinum

2000 Big Money Hustlas feature film DVD, up for Platinum certification.

2003 Bootlegged in L.A. concert DVD, shipped Gold, certified in first week.

Brushes with Billboard: 1997-1999 The Great Milenko,

sets the record for longest-running rap album in the Top 200

1999 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, debuts #4 on the Top 200

2000 ICP have two albums in the Top 20, with Bizzar at #19 and Bizaar at #20

2002 The Wraith: Shangri-La, debuts #15 on the Top 200

2004 Hell's Pit,

debuts #12 on the Top 200, #1 Independent

Reppin' the References Recorded With:

Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Vanilla Ice, Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony, Three Six Mafia, Slash (of Guns & Roses), Alice Cooper

Press kit by N. Richart, M. Scotta, V. Davidov, and B. Debler