When looking at the hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), it’s hard to think of a name that would better suit them. Donning harlequin face paint, the duo made a name for themselves with both their elaborate look and their horror-inspired lyricism.
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But what came first, the clown paint or the name? Find out, below.
Inner City Posse
The original idea of ICP came from the theatrical minds of Joseph Bruce (aka Violent J) and Joseph Utsler (aka Shaggy 2 Dope). The pair met in the suburbs of Detroit and forged a friendship wrestling in their backyard along with Ustler’s Brother John.
On top of their fascination with wrestling, the pair found a love for hip-hop music—particularly that of the Beastie Boys and N.W.A. The trio decided to continue on in their spirit, forming an amateur rap group with the alter-egos Jagged Joe (Bruce), Kangol Joe (Joseph Utsler), and Master J (John Utsler). They released their first single under the name JJ Boys.
JJ Boys failed to become a serious musical pursuit and hard times forced Bruce to move in with Rudy “The Rude Boy” Hill in another part of Detriot. There, Bruce fell into gang life, starting his own group called Inner City Posse with Hill, Joseph Utsler, and a few other friends.
The Inner City Posse ultimately led to Bruce serving time for a number of crimes, including death threats, robbery, and violating probation. After serving his nine-month sentence, Bruce decided to leave the gang life and instead focused on a professional wrestling career.
Wrestling became too political for Bruce, prompting him to go back to his original career goal of being a hip-hop artist.
He joined forces with Joseph and John Utsler and began putting out music under the moniker Inner City Posse.
Insane Clown Posse
After trying out gangsta rap for a while, the group decided to try a different direction: acid rap. The sub-genre mixes elements of hip-hop and rock. With the band ushering in a new sound, they also thought it would be apt to change their name.
The group wanted to keep the initials I.C.P. so that fans could still find them. Bruce remembered a dream he had about a clown running around and decided to use that as the impetus for their new band name, Insane Clown Posse.
Inspired by the name, the group decided to start painting their faces like clowns and adopted “Dark Carnival” themed lyrics.
Legacy and Controversy
Today, ICP consists of Bruce and Joseph Utsler. It’s hard to think of a comparable group in the rap space. Who else would come up with the lyrics, Woboogawoo wah, welcome to the House of Horrors?
Despite maintaining a staunch fandom, the group’s history has been riddled with controversy. Their fans have been seen committing robberies and assaults. There is an entire gang culture dedicated to ICP, harkening back to their early days in Detroit.
“Crimes committed by Juggalos are sporadic, disorganized, individualistic, and often involve simple assault, personal drug use and possession, petty theft, and vandalism,” the Justice Department’s National Gang Intelligence Center decided (per NPR). “However, open source reporting suggests that a small number of Juggalos are forming more organized subsets and engaging in more gang-like criminal activity, such as felony assaults, thefts, robberies, and drug sales.”
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Naturally, the mainstream hasn’t taken much of a liking to the group…
Despite their reputation, the duo revealed in a song called “Thy Unveiling” that they are actually evangelical Christians: Truth is we follow God, we’ve always been behind him / The Carnival is God, and may all Juggalos find him. Apparently, the entire thing was a plot to get their followers to follow Christianity.
“You have to speak their language,” Bruce once said. “You have to interest them, gain their trust, talk to them and show you’re one of them. You’re a person from the street and speak of your experiences. Then, in the end, you can tell them God has helped me out like this, and it might transfer over, instead of just coming straight out and just speaking straight out of religion.”
ICP embarked on their farewell tour in 2022 due to Bruce’s heart troubles, ending the duo’s more than 30-year tenure as a touring act.
Photo by Scott Harrison/Getty Images
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