Juggalo News Presents: The Carnival Grounds with Madd Maxxx and Reverend Television

On this episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss Shaggy 2 Dope's second solo album, the incomparable Fuck the Fuck Off or F.T.F.O. as it is colloquially known. This album is light years beyond the first and is absolutely one of the best projects Psychopathic Records have ever released. From the amazing beats to the stellar delivery of his always original style of lyricism, this project was a beam of light and hope in what was a somewhat uncertain and dark period in the history of Juggalo Culture. The album is packed stem to stern with bangers, proving once again that although Violent J is clearly the creative force behind much of ICP's work, Shaggy is no slouch by any quantifiable measure and can create authentic and dynamic work that stands the test of time.

On this episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss two of ICP's more polarizing albums, the EP the Calm and The Tempest, two of Insane Clown Posse's first efforts following the release of Hell's Pit and the end of The (first) Saga of The Six. These albums were not only famously produced solely by ICP but this was also the first time in many years that they did not have the full weight of a major record label behind them in some form or fashion, not to mention as discussed in the Soopa Villains episode, Alex had just up and left with many unpaid bills left on the books. To make matters worse, their relationship with Mike E Clark was, at best, simply less involved, or at worst, strained. As you'll come to find however, Maxxx and the Reverend feel these albums absolutely deserve their flowers as classic ICP projects. Check it out, or be forever stale.

On this newest and long awaited episode, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss an often overlooked and forgotten gem of a collab album, 2005's Furious by the immortal Soopa Villains, comprised of ICP, Esham, and Lavel. This album was teased for years before its eventual arrival, and in classic supervillain fashion the album signalled the end of an era, as this was the time when it can be argued the "family" era of Psychopathic Records itself truly began to dissolve. They discuss Juggalo politics (wait that's a thing?) as well as happenings in the underground and chop it up as they always do, so come check it out.

On this first episode of the new year, Maxxx and the Reverend have a jovial little chat about the two next chronologically placed Forgotten Freshness albums, #3 and #4. Maxxx forgot to listen to the albums and can't stay in one place, and the Reverend isn't having it. Hilarity ensues. They also discuss the music. Happy 2024 fuckfaces, we're off to a running start.

On this very special final episode of 2023, Maxxx and the Reverend are joined by none other than TJ aka The Beastmaster as we discuss the final half of the final Joker's Card, The Wraith Hell's Pit. We reflect on the year that's passed, but also reflect on the changes of the last 20 years since Juggalos entered and exited the era of the 6th. TJ, Maxxx, and the Reverend have known each other for the vast majority of those last 20 years and they have quite a bit to say about the culture and the community at large. This is an episode you don't want to miss, and in fact a video version will be coming soon on Youtube so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

On this very special episode, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss not an ICP album, but an album that Violent J wrote for the band Zug Izland, Cracked Tiles. This is a Juggalo deep cut that many newer ninjas aren't familiar with, but trust me when I tell you that it is one of the best rock albums of all time. Violent J didn't write the music but he wrote the lyrics, and the product is one of the most honest and hard hitting rock albums in history, in my humble opinion.

On the first of this week's two episodes, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss the second Dark Lotus album and the only Lotus album ABK belonged on, Black Rain. The two discuss the ins and outs of the album as well as the dynamic between the members in times past, as well as discussing their experiences of seeing Dark Lotus live in concert. This is one of the best album's Psychopathic ever released and it made for a great episode.

On the second of this week's episodes (because I missed the upload last week and decided to just double up instead of waiting to release the next episode) Maxxx and the Reverend discuss the legendary Psychopathic Records concept album, Wizard of the Hood. They discuss not only the album, but also the performance that took place at the Gathering of the Juggalos in 2016. Many consider this to be the absolute peak of achievement for Psychopathic Records all around. It is technically a Violent J solo album, but it featured the entire Psychopathic Records family at the time and had a unique sound that resonates to this day.

On the first of this week's episodes, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss the second interstellar collaborative album from Psychopathic Records, Psychopathics from Outer Space Volume 2. With this album being more of an actual project as opposed to a compilation album like the first, there is a lot more to dissect. The boys also go off on a tangent about Twiztid and their current status in the Juggalo underground.

On this weeks episode, Maxxx and the Reverend are joined by their first guest, the incomparable Wayne Da Payne, as they discuss the first half of the 6th Jokers Card, The Wraith: Shangri-La. The discussion actually dances around several different facets of Juggalo Culture, but most importantly Wayne regales us with a story of how he won the freestyle contest at the Wraith Release Party at Who's On First in Boston in 2002 when the album originally dropped. This episode is a long one but it's one of the best yet, which is fitting since this is the beginning of the end of the First Deck.