Faithful readers of our blogs will recall that, yesterday, we featured the original version of this song on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.
Today, we feature a version of this song with an interesting backstory. Insane Clown Posse were a couple of hip-hop goofballs from Detroit who got themselves quite a cult following with their "horrorcore" music and freaky clown makeup. This was an attempt by the band to make a big move into the mainstream. This video was played only once by MTV, and in late night. In response, ICP mobilized their fan base to request the song be played on the MTV show Total Request Live, or TRL, on a particular date in 2000. The fans responded in droves. On that date - December 8 - the band and 400 of its fans showed up at MTV Studios in an attempt to persuade MTV to play the video and invite the band on TRL.
MTV sent security and police to remove the fans, some say with excessive force, and did not mention the band, acknowledge the votes for the song, or play the video. They furthermore informed ICP's record label that the network alone decided what videos and bands were eligible for TRL, proving that they were not really taking requests - they were promoting what they felt should be promoted.
The song itself, while changing some of the initial lyrics, still keeps the darkness from the original, and works well in the ICP style, while staying true to the Sly Fox original, of which the band was a fan. It's melodic, the lyrics fit in the times, and the video - filmed in Compton, CA - is interesting and compelling.
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