Yes kiddies, it’s Halloween and Freestyle 101 has a special, blood-splattered, painty-face double feature for you. First up are those wicked clowns out of Detroit, the ones the Juggalos revere and your parents despise, Insane Clown Posse! Then it's ICP affiliates Twiztid, the next wave of hip hop crazies!
Insane Clown Posse have been creating horror-driven hip hop for nearly two decades now and are one of the most successful group to ever grab the mic. Sure, all your hip hop snobs will cry foul that they wear makeup and rap about fantasy and sci-fi stuff instead of “keeping it real,” but while your bust hatin’, ICP is busy makin’ millions. Yup, say what you will, but ICP owns their own label, owns their own masters, tour constantly, and make more money of t-shirts in one night than you and your whole crew do in a year. Seriously. Plus, KISS, Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson were criticized for dressing up like ghouls and making music that wasn’t “serious” and those guys are all legends now. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope mean business and give their rapid following what they want, time and time again. They are the Grateful Dead of hip hop…except they dress up like killer clowns. And they are from Detroit. And they will kill you. So go pick up ICP’s recent effort, The Tempest, and don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Twiztid is the most popular of the ICP affiliates. Signed to ICP’s Psychopathic Records in 1998, rappers Madrox and Monoxide have been making rowdy, noisy alternative hip hop for a decade themselves, after having spun off from defunct popular Motor City outfit House of Krazees. Like their painted face brethren, Twiztid go about winning over fans the old fashioned way, by touring incessantly and working their asses off. They are also part of the Psychopathic supergroup Dark Lotus, which includes Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope and fellow Freestyle 101 vet Blaze Ya Dead Homie. Twiztid’s latest, Independent's Day, features an indie guest artist on every track, hence the title, including Tech N9ne, Hed PE, Tha Dogg Pound, DJ Quik, The Dayton Family and Bizarre and Proof from D12. In fact, during their interview, the guys discuss going to high school with the fallen D12 rapper and watching him destroy everyone in sight with his freestyle skills.
So enjoy this very special, very scary, Freestyle 101 double feature, both shot at The Engine Room in Hollywood over Messiaz beats. And if you dig these then check out fellow hip hop shockers Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Insane Poetry, Tech N9ne, Bizarre, and RBX. Next week we have an Election Day freestyle from Kottonmouth Kings, followed by Hittman, YT Cracker, Large Professor, Coolio, People Under The Stairs, Sen Dog, Cappadonna of Wu Tang and many more. Make sure to dig our behind the scenes photos, visit us on MySpace, and rant in our Forums. Happy Halloween!
