By Isaiah Smith/entertainment editor
The Calm has ended, and The Tempest has arrived. Horrorcore-rap group the Insane Clown Posse has released The Tempest, taking the ICP sound in a new direction while staying true to the juggalo spirit of f*** the world.
“ Stepping out of the whipping and piercing rain, in walks a wicked clown/Violent J/One of death’s good friends they say/Hey, look at that, you never see a cloud that dark in the middle of the day, headed straight this way/I hope everything’s ok,” Violent J raps on the intro track “The Sky is Falling.”
The band continues with the Carnival of Carnage as this album signifies to some hard-core juggalos that the end of the world is nearing.
“ Spinning back down to earth riding in a tornado lands a wicked clown/Shaggy 2 Dope/Known to give the dead hope/And the air was ripe for some impending judgment/And judging by the look of the sky, this might be it,” Shaggy 2 Dope raps on “The Sky is Falling.”
With all six Joker cards in play, juggalo lore predicts that Armageddon will follow, a thought echoed in 2006’s The Calm and reaffirmed with The Tempest. The Eye of the Storm is scheduled to arrive later in 2007.
“ Ride the Tempest,” the title track, reveals that the tempest is the main roller coaster at the Carnival of Carnage. Metaphorically speaking, the roller coaster aspect represents society’s current spiral to oblivion.
ICP maintains its edge, delivering yet another inventive album with modern beats and flowing raps, littered with the usual high-dosage of profanity that juggalos have come to expect from the Detroit duo.
ICP raps about the lies guys tend to have in relationships on “Bitxh I Lied.” The hook, “he’s no prize bitxh, no prize,” points out to women that they do not need to stay in relationships like that.
“ The Tower” is written from the perspective of the sniper who terrorized the University of Texas from a tower years ago. Chilling is the word for this song, showing the thought process of the sniper.
A piano backing provides an interesting beat to “If I Was a Serial Killer,” the ending track, where ICP sings what it would do as a serial killer. A tongue-in-cheek track … I hope. The music is great, and the group jams for, like, seven-and-a-half minutes.
I would say which songs would make good singles off of the album, but Insane Clown Posse is not getting airtime anytime soon. To get the experience, listeners will have to buy a copy.
Overall, this album stays true to the Carnival of Carnage spirit while sounding modern. I always liked storms, so five stars.
Tarrant County College juggalos, ninjas and everybody else, rise. It is time to show your juggalo pride—buy The Tempest.
