Juggalonely

Over the past week or so I have been stepping back through the Six-or-so Joker's Cards of the Dark Carnival. For those who are already confused, I am referring to the series of albums by the Insane Clown Posse.

For those who know me, I am a self proclaimed Juggalo. Though I have not been listening to ICP since the beginning, I actually got into ICP and the Dark Carnival in mid-to-late '96 starting with The Riddlebox. I knew rather quickly this music was for me. I have been a Juggalo since. Anxiously awaiting each new card and accompanying albums.

Though The Riddlebox will always hold a special place for me because it was my first of the Joker's Cards, the Amazing Jeckel Brothers captured me and would not let go. The first of the Dark Lotus albums came out and suddenly I started to get the big picture.

Finally, the long awaited final Joker's Card, The Wraith: Shangri-La arrives on the scene. Everything came into focus. Now I have always been a religious person and to hear how the joker's cards put it all out there, I was very pleased and the connection to the music I had loved so much was even more clear.

Now, over the past few years I have become increasingly disillusioned. For years when I would see someone with ICP memorabilia I would always make a point to speak to them. When I first started doing this, I would normally get a favorable reaction and occasionally a negative. During the good time I did however meet one of my best friends. Eventually I got to the point where I would avoid this interaction as the number of these negative encounters began to increase.

Recently the latest ICP album, Bang Pow Boom has come out I've listened to it a few times and enjoyed the heck out of it. In fact, it's right up there with the Joker's Cards. Last week after a desire to listen to "The Real Underground" probably one of my favorite songs, I decided to step back through the past and follow the Dark Carnival from the beginning and end with the current carny Bang Pow Boom. It occurred to me that the juggalo nation could use a serious wake up call.

Part of being a juggalo is, as the guys [ICP] have said over and over, it's about family and your homies. The juggalo friends I have are some of the closest friends I have we stick together. I miss the days of seeing someone out in an ICP hat or a Great Milenko shirt, speaking to them and feeling welcome, like a long lost cousin they never knew they had.

I only hope that the true Juggalos and the back-slid Juggalos will hear Bang Pow Boom and decide to "retrace their roots" as I did and come to the same conclusion.

.::. DruiD .::.