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Sometime in the mid-'80s: Joseph Bruce (Violent J) and Joseph Utsler (Shaggy 2 Dope) meet in Oak Park, a suburb of Detroit.
Sometime in 1989: The future ICP releases a single called "Party at the Top of the Hill" under the name JJ Boys.
Sometime in 1990: Violent J does time for death threats and robbery, then begins a career in professional wrestling. He becomes friends with Rob Van Dam and Sabu but leaves the industry later the same year.
Sometime in 1991: Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope release their first self-produced EP, Dog Beats, under the name Inner City Posse. Local radio stations refuse to play the record—allegedly because the group is white. Inner City Posse changes its name to Insane Clown Posse, adopting a horrorcore aesthetic.
Oct. 18, 1992: ICP releases its first album, Carnival of Carnage, featuring Detroit rappers Kid Rock and Esham. It also features the only appearance of John Utsler (aka John Kickjazz), Shaggy's older brother and an original member of the group. Utsler, a heroin addict, later takes sporadic work in the group's warehouse before dying of a seizure in 2015.
Sometime in 1993: Between the release of the Beverly Kills 50187 EP and Ringmaster, Violent J first refers to ICP fans as "Juggalos."
March 8, 1994: Ringmaster is released, marking the first ICP album to be fully produced by Psychopathic Records house producer Mike E. Clark. At some point that year, the band makes a habit of spraying crowds with Faygo soda.
Oct. 10, 1995: Long-standing fan favorite Riddle Box is released.
Aug. 12, 1997: After having its contract with Disney-owned Hollywood Records terminated, The Great Milenko is finally released on Island Records.
May 25, 1999: The Amazing Jeckel Brothers—featuring cameos by Ol' Dirty Bastard and Snoop Dogg—is released.
July 1999: ICP performs at Woodstock 1999 and incites a melee by throwing $100 bills into the crowd of angry young men who showed up to hear Limp Bizkit. Compared to the other incidents of arson, property destruction and sexual assault at the festival, this is relatively tame.
July 2000: The first Gathering of the Juggalos is held in Novi, Mich., with aspirations of becoming a "Juggalo Woodstock." The Gathering lasts two days and draws 7,000 people to the Expo Center for a weird weekend of rap and professional wrestling.
Nov. 5, 2002: The Wraith: Shangri-La—notable for acknowledging ICP's belief in God—is released.
Aug. 31, 2004: Hell's Pit, intended to illustrate the horrors of the infernal regions, is released.
Sept. 1, 2009: Bang! Bang! Pow!, featuring the infamous single "Miracles," is released, bringing the group the most mainstream attention it's received to date.
Aug. 12, 2010: The 11th annual Gathering takes place at Cave-In-Rock, Ill., with reality-TV star Tila Tequila as a headlining act. The crowd pelts her with objects from the stage, chasing her back to her SUV and smashing the windows.
Jan. 8, 2014: ICP files suit against the FBI after its fans are labeled a "loosely organized hybrid gang."
May 31, 2016: ICP plays at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland as part of its 2016 Riddle Box tour.
See more Juggafacts here.
SEE IT: Insane Clown Posse plays the Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., with Young Wicked, DS8 and Knothead, on Tuesday, May 31. 6:30 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Willamette Week