Juggalo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Juggalo or Juggalette (the latter being feminine) is a name given to fans of Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group. Juggalos have developed their own idioms, slang, and characteristics.
History
The term originated during a 1994 live performance by Insane Clown Posse. During the song "The Juggla", Joseph Bruce addressed the audience as Juggalos, and the positive response resulted in Bruce and Joseph Utsler using the word thereafter to refer to themselves and their friends, family, and fans, including other Psychopathic Records artists.[2] The fanbase boomed following the release of their third album, Riddle Box, in 1995, leading Insane Clown Posse to write the songs "What Is A Juggalo?" and "Down With The Clown" for their 1997 album The Great Milenko.[3]
Characteristics
According to Utsler, "[Juggalos come] from all walks of life -- from poverty, from rich, from all religions, all colors. [...] It doesn't matter if you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or a crack rock in your mouth."[4] Juggalos have compared themselves to a family.[5][6] Common characteristics of the Juggalo subculture include drinking the inexpensive soft drink Faygo, listening to horror-themed rap music, and wearing face paint.[5] Juggalos view the lyrics of Psychopathic Records artists, which are often violent in nature, as a catharsis for aggression.[7][8]
Violence attributed to Juggalos
There have been several incidents of criminal activity attributed to self-identified Juggalos.[9][10][11][12] Some media outlets have attributed the incidents to the music produced by Psychopathic Records. Although Juggalos have denied any connection to gang activity,[6] authorities have classified them as a gang in Utah;[13] Arizona;[6] Monroe County, Pennsylvania;[14][15] and Modesto, California.[16] Because of this, some schools have prohibited students from wearing Insane Clown Posse related paraphernalia.[17][18]
Psychopathic Records and Insane Clown Posse have repeatedly denounced violence within the fandom. Alex Abbiss, former CEO of Psychopathic Records, has suggested that many of the incidents had been committed by crazy individuals that only claim to be Juggalos as an excuse for their actions.[19]
In popular media
Psychopathic Records launched the professional wrestling company Juggalo Championship Wrestling in 1999. The following year, the label began staging the annual event Gathering of the Juggalos. [20] Described by Joesph Bruce as a "Juggalo Woodstock", the festival spans four days every summer and draws as many as 20,000 attendees.[20][21] In 2009, Psychopathic Video filmed a documentary about Juggalos entitled A Family Underground.[22][23][24]
Mainstream media has also made references to the Juggalo subculture. In 2009, television sketch comedy Saturday Night Live began a reoccurring series of sketches about the "Kickspit Underground Rock Festival" which parodies Juggalos and the Gathering of the Juggalos.[25][26] The following year, the television show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia parodied Juggalos on the episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth".[27] In 2011, the television show Workaholics aired an episode called "Straight Up Juggahos" that revolved around Juggalos and an Insane Clown Posse concert.[28] Later that year, an independent documentary entitled American Juggalo was released.[29]
Several well-known figures have identified themselves as Juggalos. These include actors Kane Hodder[30] and Charlie Sheen[31], professional wrestlers Kazushige Nosawa,[32] Vampiro,[33] Colt Cabana,[34] and Willie Mack,[35] and rappers Chuck D,[36] Coolio,[37] Kung Fu Vampire,[38] MURS,[39] and Vanilla Ice.[40]
