 Originally founded as Inner City Posse in the late '80s, ICP began as a straight gangsta rap duo, composed of Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joey Ulster). After their 1991 self-released debut Dog Beats became a local favorite, the pair adopted a new, more bizarre image. Wearing clown makeup, the group changed ICP to "Insane Clown Posse" and began rapping about the "Dark Carnival" of revenge. They released more albums over the next few years, such as, Carnival of Carnage, The Ringmaster and The Riddle Box, on their own label, Psychopathic Records. The Insane Clown Posse became an underground success in the Midwest, selling more than 100,000 albums without any label support or radio play. When word of the "wicked clowns" reached Disney's Hollywood Records, the struggling label signed a deal with the ICP, releasing their major-label debut, The Great Milenko, in mid-1997. Unfortunately the album fell victim to politics -- Disney had recently come under fire from conservative Christian groups, and in an apparent attempt to placate them, pulled The Great Milenko only six hours after it was released. Nonetheless the album sold close to 20,000 copies and the band reaped media attention over the controversy. After a brief bidding war, Island Records bought out ICP's million-dollar contract with Hollywood and promptly rereleased The Great Milenko with several censored cuts restored. ICP returned in the spring of 1999 with The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, the group's second release for Island. ICP released two new albums in 2000, Bizzar and Bizaar.
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