It's Called Horrorcore?

#MNE
#TWIZTID
#HORRORCORE
#ICP


One question was about to change my life forever…

“You never heard of the Insane Clown Posse?”

The question came suddenly and caught me unprepared. I would not know then that it was a question that would move my world into a new horizon for years to come. I was young, and just starting to understand that I enjoyed music, especially rap. If you asked me why now, I’d tell you that I was attracted to the rambunctious culture, and the fuck-you-I’ll-say-what-the-hell-I-want attitude that stained my soul over the years. But the truth is, it was trendy. The Thug Life era was just coming to a close, ushering in the age of Dr. Dre’s Aftermath, Missy Elliott’s weird fish-eyed-lens music videos, and Busta Rhymes’s apocalyptic fast word-play. I didn’t know what I liked as far as music went, but I was impressionable, and I was at a fertile age that was ready to root some new seeds. Eminem’s first mainstream album had just exploded into our not-quite-ready-for-that-nasty eardrums. I couldn’t possibly know at the time that he had flung open a dirty door that would send in an inundating flood of potty-mouth art to mold an entire generation. All I knew for certain was that I liked it.

The only albums I owned then were the Blade Motion Picture Soundtrack, the Bullworth Motion Picture soundtrack, and something else, who knows. I was still asking for action figures for my birthday then. So when I met my buddy James and he introduced me to the world of time-to-get-into-your-teens-now I was not ready for this question. As far as music went, I only listened to what my sister liked. She was older, she was an influence, and she taught me about Rap. Eventually I would get to appreciate the Gods that came before, such as 2pac, Biggie, and the Wu-Tang Clan, but I did not know shit back then. I understood that a new paradigm shift in music had been born. I remember the impact when 2pac was killed. I did not get why his fatality was so important, but I remember vividly when mom told us like it was some life changing political news.

But this question, I was not ready for. It was such an alien thing then. Rapping clowns? What!

“Ummmm… Who?” That was all I could manage.

James rolled his eyes, like I was some sheltered creature hidden away from the sunlight all of his life. He told me about the wrestling, he told me about the Disney conspiracies that had been blown way out of proportion from hearsay. But it all sounded stupid, because it was.

“That sound’s wack.” It came with a disparaging laugh I hadn’t meant to slip out. I also did not know that it was pretty much the general consensus on this particular topic. Still, I never meant to offend.

Indignant, James huffed and puffed and made me listen to a track called Piggy Pie from their album The Great Milenko. I was actually very impressed after the first listen; however, I’d like to add one note: It really is not fair to start a fresh palette on a new flavor by playing only one of their best pieces off one of their most critically acclaimed albums. But I digress.

I wasn’t quite hooked just yet. James was cool, wild, and very much a bad influence. He would fade from my life forever, and faster than Thanos can snap his fingers. But that song stuck with me. I held on to that experience for a long time. It was like my first taste of a drug, and it had that very same effect. Your first high was always the strongest, and then you hunt desperately to maintain that same high. And will fail. But with the Clowns, I needed time.

My mom loved comics. She took us out to the comic book store to check out the new releases almost every month. I only just started getting attached to one publication. I loved Image Comics. It was mostly for Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, but still, I enjoyed everything they put out. It was like a dark take on superheroes and antiheroes, and beyond. I always loved the bad-guy story, and Image delivered. This time at the shop I stumbled on a new release from Chaos: The Insane Clown Posse and their Comic book debut Raze The Desertz of Glass. Now they crossed into my territory of interest. I bought both versions of that special issue. I remember they came with a special Pendulum album track on cd for every issue. Collecting all the issues got the entire secret album which would later be released gradually on their Forgotten Freshness cds. I thought it was a neat promo grab to get people to buy. But I actually really liked the artwork as well. I enjoy that visceral, gritty, ugly look in illustrations like that. It was why I always loved Todd McFarlane’s work. The grimy details were always fresh as fuck. Chaos Comics did a hell of a job bringing to life their free rolling mythology too.

I remember coming back home all excited because finally I got it. But I didn’t. I was a noob, in a sense. And I only made it not cool, if that can even be a thing considering. But these were the building blocks toward a foundation that would eventually shape everything I would grow to be.

James fell out of it, and I stuck to it.

My next cds were the Riddle Box, and The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, which was their new release at the time. On that album I saw an advertisement in all comic-book glory fashion for Twiztid’s first mainstream release: a remake of their street classic Mostasteless. That fucking cassette ended up becoming one of my most cherished possessions for a long time. Then, hearing what they were saying like “blow up the white house” and using the word without a care for consequence was both shocking and crudely inspiring for me. My mom didn’t care, she got me them for Christmas, (though Twiztid I had to discover on my own). She heard a rumor from some party spoiler at her work that admonished her for buying me them, and mom delivered that warning to me. I took it the same way a smoker acknowledged their surgeon general’s warning that they were going to become creatures if they kept being a chainsmoker. Thanks mom! Well, going to my room to listen to my jams.

The poison was in.

I grew up. The last joker’s card came out and I was confused by the grand finale. James went on to become a cult leader or whatever. I went on to jump in and out of the following. Then I graduated, got a job, and I forgot. But my dad brought it back. One day on our way to work he played the fuck off song on Jeckel Brothers. From that day on we used that song as our coffee to start the morning. I rediscovered my taste for it. I went back to my old cds and threw them in to the old disk jammer. It was late, but I rekindled the candle for that dark wicked-shit horror themed hiphop, and I wanted more. So I got more. Picked up ICP’s Bizzar, Bizaar. Bought merch at Hot Topic. And I repped that shit proudly. Most people never cared about it because they did not know. Eventually that would become problematic, but not yet.

Soon I would learn about ABK, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Boondox… Boondox was a funny one. I scoffed the infamous Scarecrow and his shoddy gimmick, until I saw him in concert and finally shut the fuck up. Now he is one of my favorite acts. My first concert was The Tempest tour featuring main acts Twiztid, and Insane Clown Posse. In that show my homie Brandon made us do it. At first, I was nervous. Never been to a Psychopathic Records show, and I heard nasty stories. And when we got there, we went straight for the barricade and stayed there until the war was done. And I mean War. Everything was chill until Twiztid took the stage. When the lights went out moments before their opening song the ocean of people behind us began roiling. They pressed us against that barricade until our ribs felt as though they might burst. When the lights hit, the base filled our lungs, and the mist flew out, they materialized under a veil of swirling fog. Then they hit that “Axe murderaz! WE DON’T DIE!” That’s when we felt the full force of the mob behind us. They crowd surfed, and we got kicked in the face, but it was awesome.

We have gone to a thousand shows since then. There was this one Twiztid show in Philadelphia Pa where a chubby, but haughty security guard wanted to talk bad about everyone that was set to perform that night. Brandon and I caught him punching audience members at the barricade. We caught ahold of one crowd surfer and together we launched his ass at that security guard. The next moment, the guy we threw was back on his feet Whoop-Whoop’n unbothered, and Big-Mouth security guard was being walked out with tears in his eyes. Apparently we shattered his arm. At the Gathering of The Juggalos we got a brutal first-hand taste of global warming as the sun beat the shit out of us and saw Tila Tequila get bags of piss to the face. Actually, we only heard about that the next morning. Whatever, the point is: It happened and she deserved it. Hate if you want; that woman dissed the Fam and took the stage anyway when clearly nobody wanted her there.

I used to be very proud and vocal about the culture that I would later learn was known as Horrorcore. The legendary Esham the Unholy began it. ICP emulated him with their clown faces and murder themes, Eminem exposed them to a broader audience, and they collectively paved the way for horror rappers of all walks of life. Soon there would be too many experiences and acts to count, but I enjoy a good bit of them. I think these days the legendary Tech N9ne and Twiztid are my favorites in this category. But I feel like a new face (forever face, rather) is about to revitalize the industry. They’re like a true honest to god Horror Movie if it was transformed into rap. I am referring to a new phenomenon called Alla Xul Elu. There is also G-Mo Skee (who adds a nice Eminem like flavor to his work), Gorilla Voltage, Lex The Hex, Hopsin, Lo Key, Scum, and as I said, too many more to mention. Alla Xul have a massive following already, and now that Majik Ninja Entertainment (Twiztid’s new rap label) have provided them a hot spot light to show off their work I think they are destined to become equal entities to their founders, and the high-rise foundation they have made.

I have met everyone from the old Psychopathic roster except for one act. So I bought the VIP pass for Frightfest 2018, and at last I got to talk to Twiztid in person. Drew them a couple of caricatures, and they were just like two excited, grateful kids to have it done. And I was greatful for that reaction as I just kind of figured they have gotten better art before. But they seemed genuinely impressed by my technique, and the small time it took to complete. They invited me to consider drawing at their convention early next year, and it was an all around great experience. I am 33 years old now. Been listening to these guys since 1999, and now, everything has become like a new chapter turning from a novel that had begun with a single question. Thanks James.

Happy Halloween! Stay wicked, stay true to you. Think for yourself dude, and don’t do what they do. Just do what you want to do. The haters are going to hate anyway, so you might as well just have fun with it.

Whoop Whoop!