That right, the Insane Clown Posse finally graces this little blog of mine! Having been around since 1989, ICP are known for their over the top stage shows, horrorcore themes, and copious amounts of Faygo. For a giant amount of people, they’re the butt of numerous jokes, but for the loyal Juggalos that listen to them, they’re makeup-covered saviors that brought joy to their lives. I fully admit I have NEVER been a fan on account of thinking they have nowhere near as much talent as they say they have, yet even I admit they get something right once in a while. Every once in a while, they’ve made a tune that I actually kinda like, and have no problem listening to a few times. The track I’m about to talk about are the 7 that I like, and are the ONLY ones I’ll ever look up. So, put on your black & white facepaint, grab your giant bottle of Faygo, and take a look at my top 7 Insane Clown Posse songs. Boo!
7) The Mom Song (Song)
If you were to ask me which of these songs were the goofiest, I would immediately say this one. Having nothing but violence & bloody imagery in just about all of their tunes, hearing one about the love for their Mom is just the dorkiest thing ever.....yet, I genuinely love this one. Sure, hearing Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope pour their souls out will make you do a double take, but it’s incredibly heartfelt & sincere with the emotions it calls up. The rhythms & beats are simple but soothing, and the lyrics really tug at the heartstrings. Again, The Mom Song is absolutely goofy given who’s singing it, but you can’t really hate it either.
6) Every Halloween (Song)
Similar to The Mom Song, Every Halloween is a goofy song. What separates it from the previously mention track is that it is much more in line with ICP than a tune about a parental figure. Ironically, the ONE thing both tunes have in common is that they’re among the terribly few Insane Clown Posse songs that don’t have people being killed, but I digress. Every Halloween shows of J & Shaggy’s talent of creating songs about strange characters, and this one’s about a weirdo that paints his face everyday, and is called a weirdo all the time except on Halloween, where instead the character is praised. It’s a dumb track that’s kind hard to not laugh at, so be sure to play it for your friends for a good laugh. Speaking of weird characters.....
5) Bowling Balls (Song)
We got this bloody number! From the first few seconds, the sound effects of the bowling lane & all of the bleeps and bloops immediately leave you unnerved. Then the vocal work kicks in, and for a split second you think “Okay, things are weird, but maybe it’s not so bad”.....then you hear this:
“We take a quick ride, homicide, then I confide in you”
Yeah, the character in this song goes around, decapitates people, and leaves the heads all over his house like a gory version of Futurama. He considers them all his friends, and goes into surprisingly descriptive details about what he does with them, and given the name of this tune, it’s not surprising one of the things he says he does. I admit, the gore does make my stomach churn a little, but there’s something about the description that gets the dark side of me to smile. Speaking of descriptive gore.....
4) Pumpkin Carver (Song)
I can’t help but laugh at this one!
Sure, the idea of carving up a freshly severed head like a pumpkin is a bit on the disturbing side, but it’s typical for ICP. What makes this song stand out is that despite the carnage, there’s just something darkly funny about the instructions that Violent J lays out for the listener. He’s goes into a shocking amount of detail about the whole process, and there’s just something about it that sinks it’s fangs into you. Maybe it because of the dark humor from J’s lyrics & vocal work, but you can’t help by get a good chuckle out of this one. If you wanted to creeps some friends out, then this will do the trick!
3) Amazing Maze (Song)
Okay, here’s where I REALLY begin to like Insane Clown Posse.
All of their songs about killing the average joe or describing weird characters seems quaint, but it when they begin to focus their ire towards those that deserve to be destroyed or social issues (More on that point in a minute) that something just unlocks for me. In this case, it’s a wealthy scumbag that tries to navigate the Amazing Maze within a carnival, and it nothing but absolute torture. A million tacks in a spinning room, getting one of his arms cut off by a serial killer, and getting felt up by a muscular hairy dude for disrespecting the opposite sex are just a few of the punishments that are inflicted upon him. Coupled with some great rhythms & beats, along with some surprisingly good vocal work from both Violent J & Shaggy, and you have a song that definitely fills you with Schadenfreude.
2) The Tower (Song)
The only reason.....the ONLY reason that this isn’t my no. 1 song, is that it I am not a military veteran that has gone through absolute. Despite that, this tune is exceedingly powerful with the message that it’s trying to convey, and is one of the few times that ICP really takes a subject matter seriously. It opens up with a news report about the infamous University of Texas campus shooting, where former marine Charles Whitmore went up into the campus’s tower, and began taking shots at everyone he could spot, & it took the police over a hour to get to him (An hour & a half if I recall correctly). J & Shaggy uses this to tell the story of a war veteran, scarred & losing his mind from being thrown to the side, makes his way to a college’s tallest point. From there, he begins a massacre of anyone he sees from his scope, as in his damaged mind he sees everybody as the enemy he fought oversees, only for said massacre to be stopped by a police officer/SWAT officer getting to him & shooting him.
None of the patented crude shock humor is in this track at all. Instead, Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope show us what so many veterans could be going through in this country: discarded by the same government that constantly praises them on TV, not being taken care of with all of their mental & physical conditions they got from war, and is a potential timebomb of chaos. Again, if I was a veteran, I would have placed The Tower at my number 1 spot, but even though I didn’t.....I consider this to be the most haunting of all of the songs on this list.
1) Halls Of Illusions (Song)
This song.....this tune.....this is what the Insane Clown Posse COULD have been.
2 psychotic clowns. Minions of some otherworldly entity, dispensing justice to those that need it. In this case, Hall Of Illusions has a couple of abusive fathers enter the ethereal Halls Of Illusions, and shows them what could have been theirs if they had just been decent people. After that, the veil is pulled back, and puts them right back into the real world, showing them all the damage they caused, and the titular Milenko finishing them off. Kinda like Amazing Maze, this track is directed right at those that deserve it, but I’d say that Halls Of Illusions is exceptionally more potent, especially since there are a lot of people in society that can relate to this. If there was one Insane Clown Posse song that you absolutely have to listen, make sure it’s this one.
And these were my top 7 Insane Clown Posse songs. Again, it surprises me that they’ve made a couple songs I actually don’t mind, but these tunes are those exceedingly few you’ll see me look for on Youtube. If you were never a fan but want to find a tune of their’s that is actually kinda nice to listen to, any of this will work beautifully. So, see you all on Halloween day, when I’ll be reviewing a Goth album that you’ve never heard of. See you then!
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This is where I got the inspiration for this list:
Rap Critic: Top 6 Best Insane Clown Posse Songs
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