“A year in the life of a Juggalo” Part 2. A continuation of the series, examining the music, shows, and culture of the Juggalos.
Welcome back to Part 2 of the “A year in the life of a Juggalo”. If you haven’t already read Part 1, I would suggest giving it a once over before going any further. If you don’t want to, that’s ok too. In the first article I was discussing the last year of my life while floating around the Juggalo Universe. The Journey started back in October of 2020 when I reached out to Project Born about doing a book on their amazing three decade run in the underground.
As the months went by and work on the book continued, I was privy to some pretty fresh moments, shows, and interviews. The year, which is going off of the October 2020 start date, had some dope twists and turns, and to be brutally honest with the readers….it’s felt like three years have passed instead of one. I say that with all the respect it deserves though because it’s been a great ride. I suppose it seems longer because I’ve been on the run for almost the entire year.
So I will be picking up where I left off, which was sometime in or around February of 2021. I had just gone to the studio with Project Born to look for the lost tapes. Some material was recovered but that’s about all I know from our time in Marshall’s studio. So back to the story….
February 26th, 2021-Cruisin The Barrio-HEXXX
So there I was pulling double duty, with the Project Born book and slowly starting to pick up material here and there for Psychopathic and JCW legend Rudy Hill aka The Rude Boy. I was moving pretty fast by this point and things were happening everyday it seemed. Music was coming out as always and I had recently received Yum Yum’s Lure in the mail after signing up for the ICP Patreon material a few days earlier (which I wrote a review, available the ROX-TV website).
Talking with Rudy by phone, he told me that HEXXX was flying into town for an interview and he wanted to know if I would interview him for the book project. I told him that I would and before to long, was zipping down US-23 towards Detroit. I made the drive so many times during the last year, that I could probably do the drive blindfolded and drugged. I was interested in interviewing HEXXX, he had some dope videos on YouTube and was repping that West Coast Wicked Shit that he is known for. I will say this right now, anyone who hasn’t checked out HEXXX yet needs to do so today.
He brings that West Coast Chicano Lowrider vibe and melds it perfectly with the wicked shit. HEXXX is a down ass Juggalo and I can’t wait to see what this guy does in the future. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be huge. I arrived on scene and got introduced to HEXXX and his partner in crime Macey. I asked them about an interview and they told me that they were in. I interviewed HEXXX for the book project but also for a ROX-TV article which can also be found somewhere on our site.
I would later link up with HEXXX at the Gathering of the Juggalos 21, where he performed a fire set on the Clown Drip Stage. HEXXX has major love for the Juggalo scene and he puts on an absolute fire show, every time I’ve seen him live. A few months down the road he also performed at the Southwest Detroit Chicano Fest 2021, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.
March 18th, 2021-Tre LB
In March I got a call from Bob Rox and he asked me if I wanted to head over to Tre LB’s studio and hang out for a bit. For those readers who do not know, Tre LB is actually the younger brother of Shaggy 2 Dope of Insane Clown Posse. Tre LB’s older brother was John Utsler aka John Kickjazz, who was a member of Inner City Posse and briefly Insane Clown Posse. Currently Tre LB has a group called Chop Shop that he has toured the country with.
Most recently he had joined Ouija Macc’s “Say it to my face” tour for a few select dates. I had never seen him perform but that would change soon enough. This day however was mostly a laid back chill vibe. When we got to the studio, Bob and I made our way in. Tre LB was running the mixing board and talking to an artist in the sound booth. We were properly introduced and began chopping it up about music and different shit in the world.
Tre LB gave me the grand tour of the studio and I was impressed. I’m not a recording artist but if I was, I would be happy to record there. It had good energy. Hell who knows? Maybe Tre will let me write a book there someday. So I got a chance to see Tre in action, while SmokeyDaBear was laying down some track work. (I interviewed Smoke five days later for ROX-TV, the article is somewhere on here).
https://rox-tv.com/2021/03/23/rox-tv-sits-down-with-smoke/
There is something magical about a recording studio. A place where thoughts are turned into words and sounds, only to inspire additional thoughts and ideas later on when reviewed. It’s an interesting cycle. I believe that music is the language of the planet as well as the universe, but that’s for another time.
Tre and Sneak aka Chop Shop would be performing at the Medickal Records 13th Annual 420 “Smoke-a-holics” show the following month. ROX-TV would be there to cover all the action (there is an article somewhere on the site). As the time on the clock ran out, we bid Tre LB farewell. I didn’t know it at the time but I would see Tre LB perform at the Gathering of the Juggalos 21 in August, but that comes a little later.
April 30th, 2021-The 25th Anniversary Prom Night Massacre Show-Insane Clown Posse, Project Born, Wicked Wood, Ouija Macc and DJ Chunk
Very rarely in life do we get to experience things we miss out on, especially at a later date (like twenty five years later) but that’s exactly what happened to me when Project Born took me on the road. We were getting closer to dropping the book and I had started rolling with hard with PJB by April. No matter what happened with the book, I told them that I would be available to help them on the road. We were becoming good friends after nearly six months of working closely together on the book and I was down for the cause. If they needed a hand, I was there to pitch in.
When Polk called me about the Prom Night Massacre show, I was again in the stratosphere with joy. I remember when the first Prom Night Show went down, but my mom had squashed any hopes of me attending. I was 15 years old when the first one happened and my parents were not exactly fans of the ICP, nor did they dig my enthusiastic following of the group. When you’re 15, it can be tough to get around without money or a license, so I missed the show.
But the universe gave me another chance, twenty five years later and I was not missing the chance for anything. I told Polk that I was down to ride, help with merch, and take pictures of the performance. We made plans for the show and when the time came, I was riding shotgun, while Polk caught some ZZZ’s in the back seat. Nitty was driving and we were bound for Indiana.
After about a three hour ride, we were crossing the border and a short time after that, were in the parking lot of Piere’s. The scene was bumping, with limousines pulling up and letting out Juggalos and Juggalettes…dressed to the nines for a proper Prom Night. It was like being in a movie or something, total magic for real. I could hardly keep myself together.
Just like when we went to the Ballas Show in December, I found myself with Frank Nitty and Polk upstairs, in the artists area. This was going to be a very special moment because a few minutes later we were greeted by Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. For the first time since 1996, I was in the company of my hero’s and actually shared a few brief words with them before posting up on the edge of the room. This was the stuff of Juggalo Legend, and I was living out my wildest dreams. Nitty and Violent J were talking about the show and catching up, while I posted up with Polk.
I had my camera but didn’t want to just start firing away, so I just decided to play it cool and not make any “un-cool” movement. These artists are “on” almost twenty four seven and I wanted to respect that small amount of time, where they could be relaxed without a bunch of shit. Ouija Macc was just down the hall, so Polk struck up a conversation with him. I did grab a picture of them shooting the shit though when the time was right and everyone was cool with it. I asked Ouija if I could grab a picture with him and he was down, so I grab one with him.
Wicked Wood was out onstage performing and all was right in the Juggalo world. We were hungry so we bopped down to grab a bite to eat at Bobby McGees. The food was good and it put the whole exprience into a new perspective for me. These artists, were real people too, whether anyone knows it or not. Sometimes you gotta grab a bite when you can, and I was starting to understand certain aspects of an entertainers life on the road. Always far from home and away from loved ones, a hot meal was a real comfort and a moment to relax before having to be “on” again.
We ate quietly, Nitty and Polk in their own thoughts as was I. After we chowed, we went back to grab the merch, but there wasn’t a table open to set up shop inside, so it was quickly abandoned. Project Born would be going on soon, so the guys got dressed into their stage gear and I got ready to document the event. Within a few minutes, we were in behind the stage in the artist area. Jumpsteady came over and would be introducing them to the crowd, he chopped it up with Nitty and Polk, while I hung back and grabbed a few photos.
Within seconds I was climbing up onto the Prom Night Massacre stage with PJB and found myself standing in the middle of the stage, which was set up just like a Prom Night. I couldn’t believe that I was there, I couldn’t believe I was with Project Born for the event, and if you told me a year earlier that’s where I’d be….I wouldn’t have believed it. It was too crazy. Juggalo dreams my friends, but there I was. I took a few pictures and then the show started with an intro by Jumpsteady. I wasn’t sure where to go exactly, so I hid behind a stack of speakers and prepared for the curtain to drop. The only problem was that the curtain didn’t open and instead, PJB went through the curtain and started the show.
“What the fuck do I do now” I laughed to myself. I walked up to the curtain and looked out the crack. PJB was performing a song and the crowd was hype. It was really comical and interesting. To be witnessing a show from behind the main stage curtain, but that’s where I found myself. I decided to come around to the front of the stage, but part of me just wanted to stay among the Prom Night set up forever, suspended in animation. But I needed to start moving and I did.
Project Born rocked a great set and the Juggalos were feeling it. After the set, we went outside to cool down for a bit and I grabbed a cigarette break. Ouija Macc was up a short time later, so we drifted in to enjoy his set. It was the second time I caught Ouija and the thing that really jumped out at me was that the guy was a non-stop energy machine. He reminds me of HEXXX in that way, because when you see him live, he is all over the fucking place…getting his point across with his body movement as well as the audio. Some performers are really exciting to see with high energy and the Prom Night Show had all the best action in town.
The highlight of the evening was obviously when Insane Clown Posse took the stage. Their stage show and performance was over the top, complete with all the Prom themes a Juggalo could wish for. I felt like I was getting a 2nd chance to see the Prom Night show and it was the place to be for that moment in time. I will never forget this show or the artists who rocked the night away for hundreds of rabid Juggalo and Juggalettes. It was a night to remember.
May 14th, 2021-Ouija Macc’s “Death by Denver” Show with Cody Manson, Scum, Insane Poetry, and many more.
Two weeks after the amazing Prom Night Massacre Show, I found myself on a plane with my road dog DJ Carlito. We were heading to Denver for Ouija Macc’s “Death by Denver” show at the Roxy Theatre, in the Five Points neighborhood. Like I was saying earlier, time was starting to pick up and before too long, it seemed like every couple of days or weeks, some more crazy Juggalo shit was going down somewhere.
I remember hearing about Ouija’s show in Denver and it sold out, so they added another date. “We’d be fools not to make this show” I thought to myself. I couldn’t in good conscious miss this concert.
Ouija had proven himself as a energy bomb in the two shows I had caught him in so far, and I knew that the show was going to be special. DJ Carlito was friends with Ouija and when I brought up the show, he was in. DJ Carlito brought the tickets and I rented a house three blocks from the Roxy. Shit was starting to shape up in a big way.
By now, Project Born’s “Forever in the Jects” book was nearly complete and Rudy’s book was starting to take up more of my time. The Rude Boy was in New Mexico at the time and told Carlito he would drive over to see us when we got into town. Upon landing in Denver, we got picked up by JCW Legend Chuey (Mosh Pit Mike’s wrestling partner) and hit the road….smoking blunts at high rates of speed on the highway.
Later on we met up with the Rude Boy, Mosh Pit Mike, and Happy the Clown. We stormed the Denver night and took over wherever we landed. We had some great times in Denver and it will be covered in Rudy’s “My life The Funhouse” memoir…dropping in December 2021. I wrote about the event in an article that I will link in below if you want to know more about the Denver Invasion.
The night of the show we walked down the street and met with the show promotor who let us in. Once we were inside and scoped out the scene, we were able to meet with Ouija Macc before the show. The Rude Boy, DJ Carlito, Tre LB, Mosh Pit Mike posed for a picture I snapped, and the regular homie pleasantries were exchanged.
Rudy and Carlito wished Ouija a killer show, and then we made our way down to some seats on the left side of the theatre. It was all the way live in the pit and Mosh Pit Mike would eventually wreak havoc on the floor during the Ouija set.
I got a chance to bullshit with Scum and Cody Manson for a bit (Cody had actually caught the same plane we did out of Detroit) during the festivities. The Roxy Theatre is a dope place to catch a show and the LSP homies were showing love.
Ouija for his part, with DJ Chunk….killed the fucking set. This guy does not disappoint ever and that’s a fact. Do yourself a favor and get to one of his shows. For more information on the show, please hit the link below. For me, the year kept rolling and there was some big news coming down the line.
End of Part 2. Part 3 coming soon.
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
kidvicious810 on IG
