"Posse" - Violent J of Insane Clown Posse

Introducción

Most people think Insane Clown Posse is either the greatest or the worst band they have ever seen. The hip hop duo from Detroit performs songs that often describe violence while wearing clown makeup. It’s like Eminem, if there were two of him and he were twice as offensive. It can be a little much for some people to handle.

But ICP’s fans are among the most dedicated in the world. They call themselves Juggalos (or Juggalettes for the ladies). They have a distinct type of dress, which is a mixture of rock and hip hop fashions from the ‘90s. They even have their own slang terms and hold big gatherings with wrestling and music that are attended by thousands!

Jason recently spoke to ICP’s Violent J about Insane Clown Posse’s posse and how even though you may not be a Juggalo, you most likely have a posse of your own.

Dialog

Jason

Violent_J

Violent_J:  Jason.

Jason:  Hey, Violent J, how’s it going?

Violent_J:  Pretty good. What’s up, brother? How you doin’?

Jason:  I’m well. Where are you right now?

Violent_J:  Where am I? I’m in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sitting in the bus.

Jason:  Alright. Cool. I was hoping you could explain for all your fans in Japan and Turkey and around the world, what exactly the word “posse” means.

Violent_J:  “Posse” is a crew, a clique, a gang, you know? You and your friends, you know, the people you chill with every day, that’s your posse. You know, your regular group of homies. If you have some people with you that you don’t normally hang out with, they wouldn’t be considered part of your posse. It’s the most comfortable people you’re with. Your every day guys or girls, your every day people is your posse. There’s only two people in Insane Clown Posse…

Jason:  Right.

Violent_J:  ...and I don’t know if two people makes a posse. But I do that that when we say, “Insane Clown Posse,” we mean our whole show. We include all the clowns that come out on stage with us, we include everything. We’re all the posse.

Jason:  And you guys are working on a western right now and it seems like “posse” is a word that comes up in westerns.

Violent_J:  Yeah, groups of cowboys riding around robbing banks, they would call themselves a posse, you know? Or this posse would be wanted by the law, you know? But as to that movie, we finished that movie. That movie is done, so we have a tentative release of February for next year. But we’re learning the ropes so we can get maximum benefit out of it. You know what I mean?

Jason:  ICP is really the only band that I can think of that created an entire subculture on it’s own. How did that happen? How did it get to be that you could be a Juggalo in the same way that could be a goth or a punk?

Violent_J:  I credit that to the Dark Carnival, because it certainly wasn’t in our plans! Just as incredible as it is to somebody looking at it from the outside, you can imagine how incredible it is to us.

Punto gramatical

Your vs. You’re

Violent J says that a posse is you and your friends. Your is a possessive adjective. It describes a noun by telling us to whom it belongs. Your friends belong to you.

Other possessive adjectives are: my, his, her, their, and our. We place possessive adjectives before the noun they describe. For example, “Our favorite band is Insane Clown Posse,” or, “Everyone in my family is a part of my posse.”

It’s important not to confuse your with you’re in written English, even though they sound the same. You’re is actually a contraction of you are, as in “You’re cute.”

So which do you think is correct: “I love your band” or “I love you’re band?”

Discusión

Discusión - Join the discussion to learn more and make friends.

Listen to Discussion

It makes sense that Violent J’s band, Insane Clown Posse, recently made a western, because the term “posse” was common back in the wild west. Violent J explains that while his band only has two members, which isn’t really enough for a posse, his posse includes all the people his band works with to make their shows happen.

In fact, ICP fans are kind of like one big posse. They are one of the only bands whose fans have their very own lifestyle. Violent J says he thinks “the Dark Carnival” which is mythical world in which the band’s lyrics take place, is what brought all the Juggalos together into one big posse.

Do you know any Juggalos? Who’s in your posse?

Comprehension Quiz