Juggalo Music – The Clown Not for Children’s Parties

Have you ever encountered clowns with weird black & white or colorful makeup on their faces and uniquely colored hair and wondered who they are? Well, you have come to the right place: these fascinating people are known as the Juggalo or Jugalette. They are mainly associated with small rural American towns, home to low-income white neighborhoods. In today’s world, they are a tight-knit community of music lovers who are directly connected to modern hillbilly culture.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Who are Insane Clown Posse and How Are They Related to “Juggalos”?

Insane Clown Posse, often referred to as ICP, is an American hip-hop duo formed in 1989 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The duo of Joseph Bruce (“Violent J”) and Joseph Utsler (“Shaggy 2 Dope”) have mostly been releasing hip-hop records since 1989 through Psychopathic Records, the label they founded in 1990. Their journey started with the name “Inner City Posse”, but after releasing their Dog Beats EP in 1991, they changed it to “Insane Clown Posse.”

This duo is known for its unique horrorcore hip-hop style. These artists started gaining popularity in the 1990s when they released 16 albums with different extended plays and compilations. Songs are usually about final judgments and their awe regarding concepts and objects like magnets, rednecks, weed, magicians, murder, and anti-bigotry. ICP’s lyrics often include cursing and explicit descriptions of sex, along with exaggerated references to violence and murder. Despite this, their tone remains surprisingly light-hearted. Their lyrics are not disparaging or sarcastic but playful, with their music leaning into a happy combination of club and funk.

Sarah Joyce/Chicago Reader

Juggalo Culture

ICP is responsible for popularizing juggalo culture, which is based on dark carnival mythos. Juggalo culture is also related to American hillbilly culture, which many people associate with “white trash” or “redneck” stereotypes. This culture is representative of life in small, rural American towns. It is characterized by cultural elements such as exaggerated Southern accents, wrestling, trailer parks, drug addiction, poverty, demolition derbies, county fairs, and heavy machinery; this list could go on and on!

In one of her articles about Juggalos, Lindsay Eager, an author at Earpeace, mentioned that  “Juggalos is not just a fandom, it’s an entire culture. They come from all backgrounds, classes, genders. They face paint themselves, mimic evil clown features, bright colored hair, T-shirts, tattoos, and ICP merchandise”.

Sarah Joyce/Chicago Reader

Woodstock for Juggalos

Notably, Psychopathic Records, which produced ICP and other music groups, also conducts the Gathering of the Juggalos, an annual festival that lasts five days and features concerts, contests, seminars, karaoke, and even autograph sessions. This festival was conceptualized in 1999 and then conducted in Novi, Michigan, at the Novi Expo Center on July 21–22, 2000, with roughly 2,000 fans in attendance. The festival continued happening in different locations till 2002, with a rising number of attendees, and then in 2003, the gathering was held outdoors for the first time. Over the years, the festival has taken place in Midwestern states like Ohio, Indiana, and Oklahoma and has impressively drawn crowds of almost 100,000 people in some years.

So, ultimately, who are the Juggalos? Are they simply a counterculture with clown makeup, or are they associated with something deeper? Whether you see them as rebels, fans, or a family, one thing is clear: juggalos have created a community that strikingly challenges societal norms, and perhaps this is what makes them so unforgettable.

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