ROX-TV presents the “Rare Flyer” series featuring some of the Murder Mitten’s most sought after and hard to find items from the underground

Welcome back to the ROX-TV website. I’d like to thank the returning readers and say hello to anyone who has stopped by for the first time. It’s no secret that I’m an old school Juggalo and also an avid collector of items from the “golden era” of the Michigan Underground Rap. To be precise, I’m talking about the glorious 90’s because by then most of the legends were well on their own paths, towards local immortality and sky rocketing success. All stories have to start somewhere and the 1990’s is a good place to start. Granted the bulk of my collection began in the first part of that decade, but also because I don’t see a lot of pre-90’s pieces that often. It would make sense, the industry was still figuring out what they were doing and also because of the fact that people just didn’t save “everything”. A flyer was good until the day of the show, if people held onto them that long.

By the time I joined the ICP Fan Club back in the early nineties, I was different for a couple of reasons. Sometimes you have to be a certain age, for the ideas to really stick. For me, I was coming of age at the time…12 in 1992 and had started to figure out who I was. I was introduced to the cassette “Dog Beats” and I was off to the races. I was already a fan of rap, but this odd looking group from Southwest Detroit was different. They were “local” which I thought was dope. They were rapping about shit that was going on forty or fifty miles from my home. I felt a stronger connection to Michigan based rappers than I did to the “coastal rappers”. I guess everyone starts out a little territorial. I enjoy East and West Coast artists, ICE T was the guy that really sent me down the path into gangster rap, with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five also playing a big role with the video “The Message”. By the time I was ten, I was looking for the stuff, and by 12 I was one hundred percent committed to being a hip hop/rap fan.

I guess I wasn’t much of a “B-Boy” because I couldn’t break dance for shit, although I tried. I did excel in vandalism…specifically with Krylon, Sharpies, and hometown graffiti. I dressed the part, but also failed at writing any type of raps or really any attempts to create songs. I did own a pair of “Technics” (1998) and had a box full of records, although I must admit my scratching abilities were minimal at best. I could do it, and I will leave it at that. Prior to getting my hands on the Technics, I had destroyed my parent’s record player trying to scratch Rolling Stones records. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in burning out the motor…it was the 1990’s and kids were trying to get involved.

So anyway, the time was right for me to get hit with the full appeal of the rap scene and that included the local stuff as well. When you’re twelve, you don’t have a job, and you hate school. At least I did, and beyond the ladies, I didn’t have much interest in school or anything else besides the music. Because I was broke growing up, whenever I was actually able to “acquire” something, it meant a great deal to me. I didn’t have money, or an allowance, or even permission to listen to or own rap albums, so it was a perfect storm brewing.

Anytime I came in contact with anything, I would stash it. Some may call it hoarding and maybe that is correct. Shit, all I know is that I loved the stuff I was able to get my hands on and kept it as safe as possible throughout the years. Did I face challenges? Of course. Mothers of the time were apt to destroy the albums because of the content and the lyrics. Maybe it was the songs about crime, fucking, selling dope, violence, whatever…but mothers were not really big on rap music. The swearing was an issue I think, perhaps it was not something that sounded like “their” hippie and British Invasion type of music. Whatever it was, my parents didn’t like rap and that pushed me even further into enjoying it. They probably should have embraced “reverse psychology” on me and said they loved the stuff. Who knows, I might have went the other way just because. Rebellion I think, is a natural element of growing up. Your parents push you in one direction, you choose another. I understand that.

Sometimes things just have to play out and any force or action to prevent something from running its course, can in fact be counter productive. Word to the wise for all you future parents out there. Humans are a funny bunch and we often need to figure things out on our own. Its the way I’ve always approached life, for better or for worse. Sometimes seeing is believing, and there is nothing more powerful than living by the sword. So anyway, that is the foundational background that I was coming into the 1990’s with. I had discovered Insane Clown Posse, Esham, Kid Rock, House of Krazees, Project Born, Dayton Family, Top Authority, MC Breed, and lots of other artists making noise.

I collected things even before I knew why and today I’m glad I did. I have some interesting pieces in the collection and lets face it. If you weren’t alive at the time, or perhaps old enough to be involved on some level, or were not part of the Insane Clown Posse Fanclub…the best shit might have missed you. You always wonder about those rare pieces that no one else has and you say “how in the fuck did they get that?”. Well the answer is, “they were there”. It’s really not that fair, especially if you come to love something that happened before you were born or old enough to participate. It sucks, because all you can do is collect and the best shit is seldom ever seen or heard. Every now and again a dope piece will pop up, but the owner will want an “over the top” price, which new collectors are forced to pay, because that’s all you can do to touch the old stuff. I used to complain about it, but there should be a few things taken into consideration before bitching too loudly.

1. The rarity of the item: This is pretty basic. If there is something out there that no one else has, even on the internet, than I would say its rare. I assume if you can find more than five examples of something, that the rarity might not be there. (There can always be sleeper collectors who don’t turn up until the price is right, but normally, if there isn’t pre-existing items at least on internet images, than you might have a nice piece)
2. Safe storage: It’s hard to stash a nice piece away for two or three decades. I have moved many times in my life and each time I did, I ran the risk of losing or damaging items. Only dedicated people will take the time to ensure the item is safe. (If it is not, what’s the point of holding onto it. You don’t save it to destroy it, you save it to preserve it)
3. Demand: Depending on who you’re collecting, there could be a demand, which will always drive up the price. More fans equals more chances of having collectors.
4. Age: This goes hand in hand with the others and doesn’t need much explaining. If the item is old or from the “early” years of the group or artist in question, perhaps before success, age definitly helps in making a piece desirable. (A copy of Yum Yum Bedlam is not going to invoke the same feelings as a cassette version of “Dog Beats” that is not a re-release)
5. Proof of authenticity: This can be tricky because how can you really prove something is authentic? Well, one way is to have supporting items that help place or explain the history of the item. I was a member of the ICP Fan Club back in the early 90’s before cell phones and the internet. When you signed up, they sent you a small hand bill welcoming you to the ICP Fan Club and what to expect. I have this. The original flyer is still in my collection after almost three complete decades. This is a piece of supporting evidence. If you’re buying ICP items from an “old school fan” be wary of anyone that doesn’t have some way of verifying the story behind the item, it doesn’t make sense, or is something easily faked. (A person could make a copy of a flyer, perhaps even crease it with the folds like it came in the mail, but they won’t have supporting evidence. Buying under those circumstances is taking a risk. A guy from New Zealand probably isn’t going to have any of the original Insane Clown Posse handbills right? That’s the logic I apply anyway). These things can be a bummer but they are true. Sometimes the deal “to good to be true” is just that. Don’t be fooled by your passion for the artist or desire to own history. Do your homework. Someone selling twenty copies of one flyer from the 1990’s is probably making them himself.

So there are a few things to consider. Should they drive the price up? I’m biased in the matter because I do own some of the dope items that are impossible to find, I kept them safe for decades, and stayed true. That has to be worth something I suppose, although I’m not in the business of selling anything. I kept all the shit for a reason and it wasn’t to cash in. I’m down forever and the items I have will most likely remain with me until I die, then perhaps being gifted to my kids. I’ve hooked up a few homies over the years, but its not normally typical. With all that being said, lets jump into the action. I’ve dug up some cool flyers or posters from the past today, straight from the collection. I hope you enjoy these two amazing examples of Murder Mitten History.

#1 Insane Clown Posse

Date: Saturday October 22nd, 1994

Location: The Record Collector (28143 W. 8 Mile, Livonia Michigan)

Time: 5pm to 6pm

Significance: The early reference to the term “Juggalo” is front and center. Violent J had called fans “Juggalos” during a 1993 performance, so “Juggalo” was still in its infancy. The flyer says “meet the Wicked Juggalos”. The flyer also says “only Michigan instore“. The last piece of information on the flyer that is cool is that at the bottom it says “and don’t miss…The Gathering of the Dead Show” at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit on October 29th. It doesn’t mention “Hallowicked” and I think that is interesting and adds to the rarity.

ICP were referring to themselves as “Juggalos”, there had never been a “Hallowicked” show at the time of the flyer’s release, and it is very clear about the date: Oct. 22nd 1994. The ICP had been doing shows but, the Ferris State University “show” had only been nine shows behind the upcoming “The Gathering of the Dead Show”. This is an old school rarity and extremely hard to find. I’ve never seen one other than mine. Anything from 1994 is going to be costly and also a nice catch. Ringmaster had been released earlier in the year (January 1994). There weren’t that many Juggalos back then (Carnival of Carnage only sold 17 copies the day it was released) and the tribe was small, most people didn’t collect  stuff religiously (as far as hand bills and flyers), and when people left the scene, a lot of times they just disregarded the collection or sold them for dirt cheap. Fools….

Item #2 Esham

Date: September 8th, 1991

Location: Todd’s (8138 E. 7 Mile, Detroit)

Time: “Doors open at 7”

 

Significance: Well, it’s pretty obvious that this piece is not only very special, but also that the rarity is through the fucking roof on this. I’d place it in the holy grail category, especially for Murder Mitten fans of underground rap. Just the date alone speaks volumes. September 8th, 1991! You can’t really go back much further, because Esham was the originator of the wicked shit. “Boomin Words from Hell” was his debut album in 1989. At the time of this show, it was still his only full album release. “Judgement Day” wouldn’t drop until April of 1992. (There were EPs Homey Don’t Play That and Erotic Poetry both 1990, but not full studio albums)

This poster is also for a specific time and event, one night at Todd’s. Up until I acquired this, I had never heard or seen anything like it. I received this amazing piece from the owner of Todd’s and I will forever be grateful for this one of a kind Esham poster (its pretty good sized, don’t let the picture fool you). This poster was made for one show and it came from the venue owner. This is a holy grail for Esham fans and Detroit Wicked Shit/Juggalo type of memorabilia.

That doesn’t even take into account the other things going on with this poster. At the very bottom is a name you might be familiar with “Kid Rock“. You have to look close or you will miss it. Kid Rock at one time had been a big deal in the Michigan Underground and I was a fan of his earliest stuff. The Polyfuze Method and the Early Mornin Stoned Pimp releases, in my opinion are amazing and I still own them. Kid Rock who had once referred to himself with the N-word, would eventually go on to become a country singer. Try to fucking square that one.

But back in 1991 he was a rapper and backing Esham on a show in Detroit. Kid Rock had released “Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast” on November 27th, 1990 and was produced by Too Short and Mike E. Clark. The album sold 100,000 copies on Jive Records.

 

Tune in next time for more precious history from the Murder Mitten. I have a lot of flyers and other unique items that I will be presenting for the sake of history and preservation.

Signing Off,

Mike Shepard

ROX-TV Head Writer

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