Juggalo News Presents: The Carnival Grounds with Madd Maxxx and Reverend Television
What is a Juggalo? There's a lot of different answers to that question as it turns out, and most of them have the word "fuck" in them. The short answer is a hardcore fan of the Detroit Wicked Shit Rap duo the Insane Clown Posse, or as they are more colloquially known, ICP. The full answer, however, may surprise you. People have always assumed that Juggalos are mostly just a bunch of white trash losers who constantly act a fool and do tons of drugs at concerts and their annual festival, The Gathering of the Juggalos. Those people are correct...
Episode 31 - Hold My Chips Babe...
On this very late episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend have their first discussion about the 3 part 2nd Deck Joker's Card they've been anticipating, The Mighty Death Pop. This discussion focuses on the core album itself and not the additional albums that are the cover album and Freaky Tales. This conversation also dips into the state of the underground at the time of the initial release and how it was received as well as the other artists of the time like Hopsin who were becoming more well known during that period.
Episode 30 - IN.....YO....FAAACE!!!!
On this very special (and very long) episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend finally get to discuss at length the first album in the polarizing but profoundly important Second Deck of Joker's Cards, the ineffable BANG! POW! BOOM!
This album served as Maxxx's reintroduction to the wonder and magic of The Dark Carnival, both musically and spiritually, as Maxxx had been very underwhelmed with the culture and with Juggalos at large at the time (mostly due to a negative experience at the GOTJ 2008). This album was the catalyst that reinvigorated Maxxx and countless others...
Episode 29 - You Aint From Round Here..
On this episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss the seminal Juggalo mixtape series Let Em Bleed Volumes 1 through 4, created by none other than the longtime Juggalo icon DJ Clay. They discuss not only the albums themselves, but also Clays' influence on Juggalo culture over time. To say that his contribution to the culture has been substantial would be an understatement, and his presence continues to be felt to this day. These albums not only solidified DJ Clay as a major player in the scene but it also gave the artists on Psychopathic at the time...
Episode 28 - Once They're Dead They're Not Coming Back...
On this very special episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend are once again joined (in person this time) by the long time homie and Juggalo Culture aficionado, Mike Landry as we discuss what we believe to be the hands down best Dark Lotus album of all time, The Opaque Brotherhood. We've referenced this album many times throughout the course of the podcast because it is genuinely a favorite, and this episode definitely helps put an emphasis on why that is. Because it was an auspicious occasion, the episode ran long and went onto more tangents than...
Episode 27 - Farther and Farther Away..
On this newest episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss one of the last compilation albums to ever come out of Psychopathic and the third in the series, Psychopathics from Outer Space 3. This album came out at a time when the division in the culture had yet to rear its ugly head, and whether things were peaceful behind the scenes or not, the family still felt as connected as ever. So many long standing classics from each artist came from this album, many of which are still performed today. Take a trip into the past and...
Episode 26 - There Was A Time...
On this episode of The Carnival Grounds, Maxxx and the Reverend discuss the post Tempest EP "The Eye of the Storm" as well as the era of the annual festival The Gathering of the Juggalos that is known as the Hogrock era. Hogrock was the name of the venue where the Gathering was held from 2007 until 2013, and it was, for lack of a better term, lawless. This was the birthplace of the infamous "drug bridge" as well as many aspects of the culture that resonate to this day. We were in rare form on this one, so come check...
Episode 25 - This Shit Aint For Rookie Kids
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...
Episode 24 - There's Still So Far To Go
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...
Episode 23 - WE FURIOUS!!
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...
Episode 22 - STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE
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.
