The Great Milenko was an album from horrorcore rap duo Insane Clown Posse, which came out in 1997 – and to this day, it is still my favorite album from the two wicked clowns. The production for the album was amazing. It included Slash, Steve Jones, and Alice Cooper even – George Clinton was recorded for the album but they felt he didn’t fit so it was not used. Other than the artists mentioned before the rest was all produced by Mike E. Clarke, the current producer for Psychopathic Records.
The original album release was so controversial, it was removed an hour after it hit the shelves. During the time of the recording and release ICP was on Hollywood Records, which was a label of Disney. Before the release the group was told they would have to change certain lyrics, and remove some songs the label felt was not appropriate. This was due to the lyrics of some of the songs at the time – Disney was being boycotted by the Southern Baptist Church. In the middle of a CD signing the group was told they had been dropped from the label and the tour they were supposed to go on had been cancelled. This happened despite the album selling, in its first day 18,000 copies, and reaching #63 on the billboard 200. After the termination a few labels wanted to pick them up, but island records was the lucky label who was able to get the group on board.Island records promised to allow the album to be released in its original form and they kept word. The album was released in 4 colors red, purple, green, and gold each one had a different secret message – when combined, they revealed the new “joker’s card” (I.C.P’s fith full length album). It was one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns to date.
The Great Milenko went platinum in the US and was in my opinion one of the best releases by the demented duo. The album has a lot of rock elements to it compared to the previous albums they had released. It definitely has a dark undertone to it. With songs such as halls of illusions, and under the moon. It is pure horrorcore and noir. These songs speak of dark stories, of how cruel the world can truly be. “Halls of Illusions” is the story of a few different people who were lowlife scum either abusive, or even perverts. They get on a carnival ride and it talks about what life would be like had they not done the things they did. It shows how good life would be to the ones they harmed but then the reality kicks in and talks about what really happens. This is where it usually happens to be some type of abuse and neglect and talks about the wife with missing teeth or the kids all grown up to be drugged out. After this the abusers are told they are going to die. “Under the Moon” talks about a boy who falls in love with a girl, who one day is a victim of another student attempting to rape her. The boy who loved her takes his father’s gun and shoots the would be rapist in the face. The song continues to talks about how he did it for her, and she tells him she will love him forever because they are both under the moon. The song takes a turn for the dark side as the boy becomes a man rotting in prison for the rest of his life where he begins to hate the girl and the walls that confine him.
Other songs that take a dark tone are songs like “Piggy Pie”, and “Boogie Woogie Wu”. I can’t forget the song “How Many Times” – a song about how corrupt the world is.There is also “Hellalujah” which is a song about crooked preachers who only preach the word of god for money. Don’t let these songs steer you away, the album isn’t all just darkness.It can have its fun upbeat songs like “Hokus Pokus” and “What Is A Juggalo”?. This is literally a song trying to figure out what exactly is a juggalo – the nickname for ICP’s notoriously fervent fanbase – and like the song says “I don’t know but i’m down with the clown for life yo!”. My favorite song on the album would be “The Neden Game”, which is a funny twist of the old dating game show in which the two contestants are asked a question and in this case they rap their responses. During the last question they begin dissing each other to try and outdo one another. The album even has a song that always helped me through some tough times. When I lost one of my best friends to his battle with cancer, the song “Pass Me By” helped me cope a great deal. It’s a song that talks about how even though were all going to have to go some day, things will be better. It speaks of the afterlife being better than the life we live. Now i’m not trying to start any religious battles, but this is what the song is about.It talks about in the afterlife, how everyone is at peace living in mansions and having anything they ever wanted. It speaks about how up in heaven there is no pain only fun and celebration. It taught me if there is or even if there is no afterlife, to not cry about those who have passed but celebrate their lives. They are no longer in the pain they may have been in. For those that were not in pain it taught me to say at least they don’t have to deal with the worlds issues anymore. It is a song that talks of being in a place where there is no more stress just pure happiness.
ICP is not the most lyrical artist of all time on a purely technical scale, but with the solid production styles of the songs and the creative ability they were allowed to have I can see why the album went platinum. I don’t care what anyone says – they have definitely built an empire off of their music and are geniuses. They should serve as an inspiration to any artist coming up they worked their asses off to get where they are but they definitely deserve it all. They are a true definition of independent kings – as well as two of the founders of horrorcore. In conclusion, if you’ve never heard an ICP record before, I definitely suggest The Great Milenko – especially if you’re into horrorcore music or even just like stuff a little different from the norm.
Bump Magazine 