For the fifth consecutive year, the good people at Psychopathic Records have smiled upon us and delivered unto the Internet another magical miracle in the form of their Gathering of the Juggalos infomercial. For those who may not be "down with the clown," the Gathering of the Juggalos is the largest convention of Insane Clown Posse fans in the world. This August marks the fourteenth installment, a five-day spectacle at Cave-In-Rock, Illinois. In honor of this latest clip, we at RFT Music have decided to raise a glass of Faygo to the Clowns by cranking our collective Riddleboxes and ranking the five Gathering of the Juggalos infomercials in order.
See Also: - We Test the ICP "Juggalo Locator" App, for the Sake of Journalism - Best of the 2012 Gathering of the Juggalos
5) 2012 - War on the Mainstream
To some, Juggalos may seem like the most reviled fanbase in all of popular music. Not unlike the Grateful Dead's Deadheads, Jimmy Buffet's Parrotheads and Jimmy Ray's Rayheads, they're a group largely marginalized and victimized because they're really excited about a particular artist's music. Granted, the Dark Carnival's welcoming arms tend to be so inclusive that they draw upon many societal misfits, which made last year's infomercial a call-to-arms from the war zone that is underground vs. mainstream. Coincidentally, the lines between mainstream and underground hip-hop became more blurred that summer including at the Gathering which featured performances from Danny Brown, the Game and Master P.
4) 2011 - In a Galaxy Far, Far Away
The 2011 Gathering infomercial boasted our beloved hosts Sugar Slam and DJ Clay joined by Vanilla Ice and producer Mike E. Clark donning alien costumes and bringing a full outer-space outsiders' perspective on the Gathering of the Juggalos. As great as it is to hear Clark/Clerg's excited reaction to Juvenile's announced performance, the real achievement here is how in its third installment the Gathering infomercial feels like a full-fledged event. The production values stepped up, signaling the infomercial truly being an institution.
