|
Entertainment of the highest order has been the goal since ICP's beginnings. Fans of broad range of music, J and Shaggy
cut their own stylistic path with their makeup, daringly explicit lyrics and an aggressive, energetic stage show that over
the years has included elaborate sets, top-notch production values and the hysterically sticky tradition of spraying copious
amounts of Faygo soda pop around the stage and on its crowds. Thanks to the savvy, street-level guerrilla marketing by the
duo and its Psychopathic Records posse of ninjas, ICP's juggalo crew has been serviced by not only the music and live performances
but also by comic books, videos (including the feature film Big Money Hustlas), an extensive and inventive line of merchandise,
and the rough-and-tumble side project Worldwide Championshit Wrestling.
ICP -- which distinguished itself at last year's
Woodstock festival by taping money to the bottom of giant balloons it sent sailing into the crowd -- readily acknowledges
this is all for some tastes and not for others. After singing with Hollywood Records during the mid-`90s, the group made international
headlines when Disney executives (Hollywood's owners) discovered just what their subsidiary had signed when it got an earful
of The Great Milenko. It may have been too much for the Mouse, but Island Records was quick to give ICP safe haven for Milenko,
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers and now the one-two punch of Bizzar and Bizaar.
We recorded these strictly on the talent
we know we've got, and we iced it, J says with pride. And I have no question we will once again reign supreme by making all
the critics' worst album lists of 2000. But you know what -- fuck `em. This isn't for them. Adds Shaggy, It's for us, and
it's for the juggalos. If you're down with it, come on in, `cause it's way dope; if you're not, then don't even bother. Just
stay the fuck away.
J is being -- believe it or not -- a bit modest. ICP never goes into the studio
to repeat itself, so Bizzar and Bizaar continue the creative growth the duo has pursued ever since childhood friends J and
Shaggy started slapping on the grease paint during 1991. As producer Clark says, It's a little more sophisticated. The writing
is better. The tracks are better -- but still very ICP.
With only a modicum of guests this time -- including ICP cohorts
Twiztid and legendary Detroit rapper Esham -- the songs on Bizzar and Bizaar run the gamut from straight-up hip-hop to rocking
guitar tracks and ICP's old skool horrorcore. Twists? This crop of songs has a doozy in Let's Go All the Way, a remake of
the 1986 pop hit by Sly Fox recorded with the Detroit rock band Perpetual Hype Machine. It's just a crack-up, says J. I'm
singing on that, but...I changed all the lyrics in the song except for the chorus.
|
