Juggalotus and Ya Know This! (Part 2 to Horrorcore)

When it comes to horrorcore and ICP, people always asked me, "What's a Juggalo?"

Juggalos @ The Gathering in 2003

A Juggalo or a Juggalette is a fan name given by Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, Blaze, and other artists from Psychopathic Records and their sub-label, Hatchet House. The term was originated by Insane Clown Posse over the song, "The Juggla" in 1992, in which Violent J addresses to the audience as Juggalos. Juggalos and Juggalettes refer to themselves as family. The common characteristics of a Juggalo include drinking Faygo and sometimes painting their faces. Well-known faces, such as Scott Hall, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Vanilla Ice, Kane Hodder, Vampiro, and Tech N9ne are also Juggalos. In an interview with Post-Gazette, Shaggy 2 Dope of ICP said that "Juggalos come from all walks of life – from poverty, from rich, from all religion and color. It doesn't matter if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth or a crack rock in your mouth."

Every summer, all the Juggalos and Juggalettes participate in an annual event called The Gathering of the Juggalos. Originally began in 2000 by ICP and Jumpsteady, it's a four-day event that includes concerts, games, wrestling, contests, autograph signing, and seminars. The Gathering features a variety of hip hop and rock performances, although the majority of the acts perform horrorcore and hardcore hip hop. It is commonly known as a "family reunion" among fans.

Me in Halloween 2008, spotting the Old-School Twiztid look!

The Juggalos were involved in many violent crimes, such as arson, assault, kidnapping, and murder. Even though they denied connection to gang activity, some states such as Utah and Arizona labeled the Juggalos as a gang. Psychopathic-related clothing is also banned in schools. ICP and Psychopathic Records were repeatedly accused of the violence behind their songs. According to ICP's former manager, Alex Abiss, they are just crazy individuals who are using ICP's music as an excuse for their actions.

I've been a Juggalo for 4 years now, and I will never do anything to sell out. Much Clown Love to all my Juggalo family! Whoop-Whoop!

Word Count: 350

Horrorcore: The Dark Side of Hip Hop

What is Horrorcore?

Horrorcore is rap music with horror-related themes which began in the late 80s, early 90s. Their themes are based on death, reality, Satanism, cannibalism, suicide, and murder. Some artists use hip hop beats while others use rock-influenced beats. It is popular in the underground and rarely popular in the mainstream. Some artists like Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, and Three 6 Mafia gained mainstream success.

In the early 90s, rappers such as The Geto Boys, Brotha Lynch Hung, Esham, and Insane Poetry were creating their own styles of horrorcore. The definition wasn’t coined until 1994. Two rap groups, Gravediggaz (led by Wu-Tang Clan member, RZA) and Flatlinerz (led by Russell Simmons’ nephew, Redrum) release their own horrorcore albums, 6 Feet Deep & Under Satan’s Authority.

Horrorcore was never popular with the mainstream audience because no one understood the concept of the genre. It also gained negative media attention. When Flatlinerz made three music videos, they were banned by both MTV and BET because of their controversial content. Insane Clown Posse classified their selves as the “most hated band on the planet” because of the negativity they received from the media. They recently gained media attention when Tila Tequila and Method Man were attacked by the fanbase known as Juggalos at the Gathering of the Juggalos last month. Three 6 Mafia were criticized for being devil worshippers because of the group’s name and their horror-related lyrics in their music. When they won the Academy Award back in 2006, they thanked Jesus Christ. In 2005, Jeff Weise shot and killed nine people. Weise was also known as a horrorcore fan. Last year, September 19, 2009, an amateur horrorcore rapper by the name of Syko Sam was arrested for killing four people.

It looks like the media is trying to say that horrorcore rap has a negative effect on the youth. I disagree on that. Horrorcore rap is just like watching a horror movie without the visual aspect. Horrorcore is just entertainment. I guess society doesn’t want to hear reality.

Word Count: 349

Never Give Up: The Path of a World Warrior

Street Fighter X Tekken [Capcom, Bandai Namco (2012)]

In the fighting game community, there are casual players, hardcore players, and scrubs. The casual players would play for fun, while the hardcore players would play to win and the scrubs would whine on what's cheap. These types would apply when it comes to playing Street Fighter.

For me, I am in between casual and hardcore. I was about 15 years old when I first started playing Street Fighter on a competitive level local and online. Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting was the game. I kept on losing a lot because I had no knowledge of the game. In other words, I was classified as a scrub by other players. From Hyper Fighting to both Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Street Fighter III: 3^rd Strike, I was classified as a scrub. But I was slightly getting better because I was watching and listening to other expert players. As Street Fighter IV came out, I entered my first tournament. Even though I lost the first round, I had fun, but at the same time, I had that "never give up" attitude in my eyes.

To this day, I've matured into how I play Street Fighter. I haven't joined any other tournaments yet, but I'm still looking. Win or lose, I have to give it my all. I've learned : Playing to win isn't always about winning; it's also about improving your skills.

Word Count: 246

My Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Cory Mewborn, and I'm from Davidsonville, Maryland. I am 19 years old and I am a transfer student from Anne Arundel Community College. I am majoring in Computer Science so that I can pursue a career in Game Design. From my earlier years to my present day time, I've always loved playing video games, but mostly fighting games. It's true, I am a fighting gamer. My life is like a fighting game: I seek new challenges and new challengers every day. I normally don't use quotes from a video game, but here's a good one: "If you enter the ring expecting to fail, you will. Believe in yourself!" – Ryu, Win Quote from Street Fighter IV/Super Street Fighter IV.