ROX-TV continues with Part 3 of “A year in the life of a Juggalo”. A year immersed in the Juggalo community, music, events, and more.
Welcome back to the third and final installment of “A year in the life of a Juggalo” which chronicles my experiences in the Juggalo Universe while writing two books related to the culture. For the readers who have been following ROX-TV since February when I came on board as the head writer, it has been a great year for content. Although hitting every single event is not always possible due to family constraints, I have given it my all to celebrate this thing of ours (collectively and from many stations in the Juggalo space).
It has been a real honor and privilege to bare witness to the things that make the scene “tick” and I know that I’ve been lucky to have seen and documented so many different events and milestones. In the previous article, we left off in May of 2021, just after returning home from Ouija Macc’s “Death by Denver” show at the Roxy Theatre. So the logical next step is to keep pushing. I explained earlier that my year of in depth diving started in October of 2020 and the “year” ends with this October 2021.
I have no plans to stop covering things that Juggalos value and dig, I just wanted to frame the last year of my life within the Juggalo context. For me, touching any part of the overall arching world of Psychopathic Records, ICP, and the countless artists who recorded at PSY or contributed to the movement at any time has been a thrill. I don’t know what it was like for the “Dead Heads” who were the loyal and ever present tapestry woven around the Grateful Dead, but I think I have a pretty good idea.
When you love something to the point of associating it with who you are as a person and incorporating these feelings and joy into your everyday existence, than I think we have approached “Dead Head” level status in relation to Juggalos and the Clowns. So on that level, I think we are similar to “Dead Heads” to a point, but surpass their scene by leaps and bounds. I don’t know if there has ever been a music group in the history of the modern era (perhaps all time) that has produced the type of following established by the Insane Clown Posse. If you got some ideas or proof, please let me know, but I think history will side with the Juggalos on this one.
This scene has given me a place to call home for almost thirty years or so….the last twenty eight to be exact. For people who didn’t have a home or were accepted by the societal groups of the day, the Juggalo Community was a safe haven and non-judgmental to the point of accepting anyone who was searching out shelter or good music. We faced a lot of backlash for this music, but as time has marched on, the opposition faded for the most part. I think this was in part because the jock, preppy, yuppy, trendy, and wack scenes were mostly structured around some form of hate or putting others down.
What I have learned in my life is that love can outlast hate, acceptance can outlast ridicule, and a place for all will outlast the exclusionary. In high school, I watched for years as scenes were run by a “select” few, who’s standards and ideas were very limited. Follow the herd or else.
I’m glad I took the road less travelled by and stuck to what I was into because if you look around today, the Juggalo scene is the only thing still going strong from the 1990’s. Trendy music comes and goes (sometimes rather quickly), fashion police suffer much the same fate, and the “social” groups that dominated the 1990’s have mostly died off into lame conformity or senseless pastimes like divisive politics and hate peddling.
It takes time for people to figure out the game, depending on your life experiences and perhaps your exposure to other cultures and areas. This is ok, but the moment that you peddle in hatred or turn into a gatekeeper, you lose the moral high ground and doom yourself to oblivion.
The Juggalos never hated anyone, although they would have good right too with all the obstacles put in the way over the years. The scene rejected the non-sense and just did what they always had…enjoyed the music and each other.
So with that out of the way, we are now free to pick up where I left off yesterday….and I believe that it was in May. I had just landed back on Michigan soil and was getting ready to drop the “Forever in the Jects” book about Project Born’s three decade run into the underground.
It was a busy summer, and things had been moving along pretty steady since October, with another overdrive bump in February of 2021, when I started cranking out material for ROX-TV. My mind was on overdrive. So without further to do…..
June 2021-Violent J contributes to “Forever in the Jects”
Perhaps one of my most memorable parts of the “year in the life” came when Violent J was gracious enough to be interviewed for the Project Born Book. This addition to the piece was absolutely amazing for a couple of reasons. First off, the obvious reason was that Project Born and ICP share such a long and enduring friendship going back to the early 1990’s. To be able to speak with Violent J and ask him about those early days of Psychopathic Records was truly mind blowing for me. To hear his own thoughts on Project Born and how they came to sign them as the first act to Psychopathic Records was simply remarkable.
“There used to be a record store called Wyatt Earp Records in Flint and we used to take our product up there an they would tell us what was happening in Flint. I remember we took our product up there one day and they told us about Dayton Family and Project Born. They said those were the two hottest things happening. At the time Dayton Family had and EP out and Project Born had a single out with Esham. The single was called “Losin It” and they couldn’t keep it in the store, know what I’m saying….they were flying out. That was so dope to us”. Excerpt from “Forever in the Jects” Violent J, page 115.
“I remember everyone made us feel really welcomed. I remember Project Born telling us that if we ever ran into any trouble in Flint, that we could lean on them. That shit meant a lot to us…to make us feel so welcome, that made a lasting impression for life. When we offered Project Born the deal, it wasn’t a case of where we felt bigger than them. It was more mutual, we thought we could open the city of Detroit up for them and they could open Flint up for us. It felt like they could expose us to the Flint market and we could do that for them in Detroit”. Excerpt from “Forever in the Jects” Violent J, page 122.
I remember talking to Violent J on the phone, conducting the interview, and it was so hard to concentrate. For a Juggalo, dealing with artists from Psychopathic history is a thrill, but to have the big boss on the line is on some other level type shit. I had a job to do for the book and we accomplished the mission. But even four months later, I get out “Forever in the Jects” just to make sure it wasn’t all a dream. I got to tell the story of Project Born and during the course of the work, was able to etch a little in the wall for all time. Shit….how about that? Not bad for an alcoholic from the 810, not bad at all. So yeah, reason two……well I think I’ve made my point. Violent J didn’t have to contribute to the book but he did for his friends. Pals…..that is real friendship and it lasts forever.
June 23, 2021-Blackout Brutality JCW wrestling event-Majestic Theatre
June was a busy month and the PJB book was mostly finished and ready to submit for author’s copies. I was running ragged but still in good spirits. There really was no break though, because when the PJB book was complete, I just shifted gears and continued on with the Rude Boy’s book (My Life The Funhouse, set to drop in December 2021, details are coming). I was working closely with Rude Boy and DJ Carlito, lining up interviews, speaking with friends and family….collecting data. It was a fast time at Ridgemont High (Great movie released August 13, 1982) for me and the Hill boys.
One day after working at ROX-TV Headquarters in Trenton, DJ Carlito and I decided to hit the JCW Blackout Brutality wrestling event at the Majestic Theatre. I love the Majestic and it is a great place for shows. Located at 4140 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, the venue can hold up to 1,100 people easily. The Majestic was designed by C. Howard Crane and opened it’s doors on April 1st, 1915. (There is an urban legend that Houdini died after performing there, but in reality, Houdini died at Grace Hospital on Halloween. He had been in Detroit, performing at the Garrick Theatre on October 26th. Houdini suffered from peritonitis from a ruptured apendix, and passed away in room 104 of Grace Hospital at 1:26pm, Halloween. The Garrick Theatre was demolished in 1929)
The event was hosted by Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. DJ Clay was running the one’s and two’s…..and I was happy to be in Detroit. The event was full of hardcore action and high flying delivery. My homie Mosh Pit Mike and Chuey were wrestling along with a few other faces I had recognized from the IBW (International Big Time Wrestling-The Rude Boy’s wrestling promotion).
A short time later, the Rude Boy arrived and met up with DJ Carlito and myself. It was a pretty wild evening and the show was great. The event was to be featured on ICP’s Patreon site and the Juggalos were pretty hyped. For those wishing to learn more, please check out the article below. As the night faded to a close, DJ Carlito and I hit the road, passing through Detroit City and enjoying the visuals of the sleeping giant.
July 2021-Project Born releases “Forever in the Jects”
The time had finally come to drop the book on Amazon and www.therealprojectborn.com for Juggalos and fans of Project Born. It was a culmination of the hard work we had put in and it felt good to tell the PJB story for all time. It was a continuation of my past colliding with the present, detailing the group and my own history as fan. Back in 1995 if you had told me that I would eventually write Project Born’s story, I wouldn’t have believed it. But there I was and that’s exactly what I had done.
In another moment of the surreal, Violent J posted about the release on the Psychopathic Records website, in the news section. He wrote an open letter to the members of Project Born and extended an amazing “congratulations” to Frank Nitty, Half Pint, and Polk. It was posted on July 17th, and is about a ten minute read. We were very excited about the post and again hit another high note for the project. To date, the letter has been read by almost 4,000 Juggalos. You can read it here following the link…
https://www.psychopathicrecords.com/post/a-letter-from-vj-to-project-born
August 19th-21st, 2021-Gathering of the Juggalos 21-Ohio
The time had finally come for the annual event that all Juggalos have marked on their calendars. The yearly family reunion know around the world as the “Gathering of the Juggalos”. It had been on my mind for several months and each day I would check for any updates about news pertaining to the massive party. Then word finally came down from Project Born that they had been asked to perform at the GOTJ. The year just kept getting better and better.
I made plans for the trip and rented a house on the edge of town (really on the edge….not much of a town….very rural there) which sat on a hill in the boonies. I left early the day before and got to the house to set up. Project Born was leaving a little later in the day, but by 8pm, we were eating dinner and going over strategy. We had books to sell, merch to move, and of course there was the performance by PJB as well.
I brought my camera and planned to record the entire set, for use at a later date, perhaps for a video? All I know is that when content is being produced in real time, it’s a good idea to capture as much as you can. If you do and don’t use it fine….your not out anything, but if you don’t….you will never have that chance again. We were prepared and the time was upon us.
The next day we checked into the artist gate and waited for a ride on the golf carts. Blahzay Roze came by first, but since there was only enough room for three on the cart, I volunteered to hang back with my homie Gary. We were at the Gathering and if I had to wait an extra twenty minutes to get my pass, I was cool with that. The whole experience was more than I could have ever asked for and I was a grateful Juggalo. During the wait for the homies to return, DJ Chunk pulled up and jumped out to check in. He had to wait a few minutes for his golf cart ride as well, so we started rapping a bit.
DJ Chunk knew about my writings for ROX-TV and I told him that the show in Denver was amazing. We made small talk mostly and never missing a moment to document the history, asked if Chunk would be down for a quick picture. DJ Chunk was really cool about it and said sure. I told him we couldn’t wait for the performance and when another cart arrived, he was off into the depths of the Juggalo Universe camped out at the site. Eventually our ride showed up and the driver offered me and Gary a few Faygo’s which was a nice gesture. We blew through the park and eventually made our way through the humanity, to where PJB was posted up. It was going to be an epic party and we all knew it.
The thing about the Gathering of the Juggalos is that there is literally so much shit going on, that it is virtually impossible to catch everything, it just isn’t possible. A Juggalo can only be in one place at a time, and it was triage moment for sure. See what you can, when you can. I wrote a series on the GOTJ 21 and will include the links below. The greatest moment of the event was when Project Born and Insane Clown Posse performed “Graveyard” for the first time ever live. The feelings I had were almost completely overwhelming. As I watched from the side of the stage, Project Born and ICP took the Juggalos back twenty five years….back to the Graveyard. For a lifelong fan of this Juggalo shit…..I had reached the Mt. Everest as far as I was concerned. Life was good, real good, and in that moment I was transported through time, back to that lonely bedroom on West Hill, listening to the music on low (three on the dial, so the parents wouldn’t get pissed) all those years ago. From listening to the music out of a busted up boom box, to being backstage seeing all my hero’s at once…..fucking forget about it. Mt. Everest ladies and gentlemen.
September 27th, 2021-Interviewing the Director of “United States of Insanity” Tom Putnam
The movie “United States of Insanity” was getting ready to drop on the Juggalo world. I knew the project was going to be special and decided to reach out to the Director of the film, Tom Putnam, to see if I could land an interview about the movie. To my surprise, Tom said he would be happy to. It was yet another feather in my Juggalo cap, writing about things that mattered to me….things that interested me…..and getting it down for history. There is nothing better than that, at least speaking for myself.
Tom gave a great interview and I wrote an article about the interview (I will share the link below) for ROX-TV. I encourage everyone to read the article and also to support the film at the box offices. Juggalos from all over the country have been posting on social media and the film is a source of pride for the Juggalo Community. The FBI is no small fish, but the Insane Clown Posse took it to them for the well being of their fans and to stop the injustice that was being shoveled out by the federal government. This film is a great source of historic content and I believe people will be looking back on this film, the actions of ICP, and the culture for decades to come.
October 2021-A year in the life comes full circle
So there I was in October of 2021….literally right around the 29th to be exact. One full year since I first decided to take this journey with Project Born. The road took me places that I had only previously dreamed about. The journey allowed me to have meaningful discussions with my heroes. I had managed to get down history for the Juggalo Culture in the form of two books (Forever in the Jects, Project Born….and the upcoming release of Rudy “Rude Boy” Hill’s story “My Life The Funhouse” available on Amazon in December 2021). I had produced almost two hundred articles since February (somewhere in the word count of 400,000) of 2021….with a large margin of content focused on Juggalo related music, events, or themes.
Violent J had appeared in both of my books, talking about Project Born and the Rude Boy respectively. The most recent book on Rudy Hill also features special appearances by Project Born, Ouija Macc, Blahzay Roze, DJ Clay, Myzery, MC Lars, MC Snax, and many more artists and wrestlers (details coming soon). I had been to some amazing shows with Project Born, including Big Ballas, Prom Night, and the Gathering of the Juggalos. I had caught high flying devastation at JCW, travelled across the country to follow the story on Ouija Macc, and made some fantastic friends along the way. All the while getting more material for history’s sake.
When you put your mind to it and focus on achieving things you want….you’d be surprised how much you can get done in three hundred and sixty five days. The last year had so much shit crammed in it, the year felt like a three year situation. But the calendar doesn’t lie. One year in the life of a Juggalo…..
Are you going to let life pass you by? How many times?
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
kidvicious810 on IG
