Season 6 of the Juggalo Rewind is a deep dive into the almighty (not Bobby Lashley) 6th Jokers Card, The Wraith’s exhibit of Shangri-La. This page serves as a companion piece, without all the nonsense and fun of course! Consider it a historical documentation of all things regarding the album and era that was Wraith: Shangri-La.

Album Overview and Lead Up

The album, The Wraith Shangri-La, may have been released on November 5th, 2002 but the era truly kicked off At the Hatchet Rising Tour when the silhouette of the almighty 6th Jokers Card would be revealed. Running from September 28th, 2001 to November 18th the Hatchet Rising Tour would go down as one of the greatest tours in Juggalo history, mainly because of the all star lineup, but for season 6 purposes it’s importance was the glimpse of the 6th. ICP would ask all to not share photos and spoil the surprise for those who have yet to witness the sight, which in a pre smart phone world would not be hard.

On January 3rd, 2002 ICP would announce (on Detroit sports talk radio show Parker & The Man of all places) they were going into hiding to record the 6th and final Jokers Card album. This was confirmed in a ICP.com post reveling a letter Violent J “dropped off” mysteriously at the Psychopathic Records office on January 21st . This letter also announced that this would be the first Jokers Card sans Mike E Clark. Clark’s absence was a topic of discussion since the Tales From The Lotus Pod recording sessions that saw Mike P and Fritz The Cat take over production.

Soon there would a back and forth between Psychopathic Records and Mike E Clark on why he would not be producing the 6th. Below is an excerpt of a Alex Abbiss interview where he addresses MEC.

Question: “I read the letter Violent J wrote talking about the 6th and I can't believe that ICP isn't having Mike E. Clark make the music..he's made all the music for all the Jokers cards..why isn't he makin the music for the 6th??? Juggalo till my soul rotts away!”-erik

Answer: “There is one reason Mike E Clark is not working on the Sixth Jokers Card: Mike E Clark decided not to work on the Sixth Jokers Card. There are many possibilities why Mike E Clark might have decided not to work on the Sixth. One possible theory why Mike wont be on the Sixth is a lawsuit that Mike has/had with Island Records over royalties (ICP and Psychopathic had nothing to do with the lawsuit, and it was strictly some high-level business stuff between Mike and Island). Another possible reason is that Mike may just be tired of working on ICP stuff, and wants to work on something new and different. Maybe the stress and player hatred of working with the worlds most hated band is too much for him. Maybe the Dark Carnival stuff (especially now that it is the 6th Jokers Card), has gotten to spooky. Regardless, ICP and Mike E Clark had a long talk, and decided that that they are homies, and always will be homies, and they just wouldn't work on music together.

Now, if Mike E Clark changes his mind, and wants to work on the Sixth Jokers Card, you can bet that ICP will be super-quick to bring him back in the studio. But until then, ICP and Psychopathic respect his choice, and wish him the best at whatever he does.”

Mike Clark would return with his opinion on why he was not involved with the 6th

“..let me clear some of this up. (even tho i hate talkin bout psychopathic shit on the the B4 Records site) but anyway...1st of all ..i did get rid of most all my ICP stuff,(didn’t have room for it) however i still have "The Wall" (and "the Funhouse Door") stay tuned..it may be going up for sale real soon. Now i did tell J (back before the "Wraith") i wanted to do "The 6th"....ALL of "The 6th"! or nothing, because i didn’t like the way Dark Lotus came out (i had no control over that record) and i didn’t want that to happen to ,what i thought, would be our most important record. The 6th. That, unfortunatly, was the last time i talked to J. i guess they had 1/2 the record already done with Mike P. finally i just said "i couldnt do it". ....so as far as "Hells Pit" is concerned...i dont know shit about that record. is that supposed to be the 6th Part Two ?????? all in all.. i wish they would have just left the ICP stuff to me and let Mike P do all the other...oh well...that’s just my opinion.”

With the early days of the internet, and ICP in hiding, the rumors would continue to swirl regarding Clarks absence from the 6th. This would lead to another ICP.com update, this time from Jumpsteady, regarding Clark.

“Every move we make has a purpose. What took place between ICP, Mike and Psychopathic has nothing to do on a personal level or because of a difference in how they wanted the album to sound or any of the other bullshit rumors flying around. Its just a business matter, which led to the fact that Mike, Psychopathic and ICP just don’t see eye to eye anymore.

First off I want to say that Mike Clark at this time is still on good terms with ICP and Psychopathic and we consider him to be a friend. After all the years that we have worked together I hope that it can stay that way and business won’t interfere with that friendship. I have never been that close to Mike personally but from what I have known of him, I find him to be very cool. The reason for Mike not working on the Sixth is because of a business disagreement that has nothing to do with Mike as a person. We have no interest in airing out all of our personal affairs because it’s just that...personal. It just wouldn’t be fair to Mike because it’s not meant to be shared. We just ask you to understand and know that we came upon the decision not to work with Mike after much aggravated debate. Also know that it was just as much as his decision as it was ours and we feel sad that it has to be this way.”

Producer would not be the only new beginning on the final Joker’s Card, as ICP would finally be free of Island Records (one of the holdups on the release of the 6th). Below is an excerpt from ICP.com announcing the new deal with Red Distribution.

We have just closed a deal with Red Music Distribution, Sony's independent distribution arm, to distribute the entire current Psychopathic Records catalogue. "OK, why are you telling me this?" you ask. Well, have you ever had problems getting some of the new dope-ass Psychopathic Records releases, such as Jumpsteady: Chaos Theory or Hatchet History: Ten Years of Terror? Or are you out in Canada somewhere and cannot seem to find Twiztid's Mirror Mirror? Well, this deal with Red Music Distribution will change all of that. Now when we say that an album will be in stores everywhere it will actually get to stores everywhere, and not get lost in the shuffle. You will be able to pick up Psychopathic Records releases in many, MANY more stores, including stores north of the border (yes, that means Canada). This new deal makes it helly easier to pick up some of the phattest releases Psychopathic has put out without having to hit up our online webstore HatchetGear.com.

ICP would also sign a deal with Shok Records in Australia to get the Wraith, and Psychopathic Records back catalog in the land down under. This announcement on March 8th 2002 would also note this new deal would mean ICP would finally be touring Australia. (which would happen in May of 2003 after the Shangri-La Tour wrapped up in the US)

While “in hiding” ICP would record the 6th across multiple states and recording studios. All tracks would be started by Mike P and Violent J at the home studio in Detroit, the Lotus Pod. From there they would go to Dallas, with stops in Vegas, and on to Nashville and finally to California to be mastered by Tom Baker. Below is a infographic highlighting the sessions and presumed timeline.

INSERT RECORDING INFOGRAPHIC

On April 2nd it would be confirmed that ICP would be headlining the 2002 Gathering of The Juggalos. This would be the only confirmation of their return from hiding until June 12th when it would be announced that at the ICP seminar all the questions regarding the 6th would be answered.

“But, the day is coming when these questions, when ALL the question, will be finally be answered. That day is July 19th, 2002, at the Insane Clown Posse Seminar at the Gathering of the Juggalos in Peoria, Illinois. There, they will personally explain throughout the course of this hour-long event some of the most coveted, most devastating, most unimaginable flavor and secrets EVER! You will finally know where they have been these last few months, why they went into hiding for the Sixth Jokers Card, what their new look is, what is the significance of the number 17 in their songs, who are the amazing guests on the Sixth Jokers Card, and much, much more!

This is the most highly-anticipated seminar of the Gathering of the Juggalos, but is limited to a mere 500 individuals, so to make sure the Juggalos everywhere will be able to soak in the extreme flavor that will going down…”

The ICP Seminar at the 2002 Gathering would be the moment that hype for the 6th would reach full scale. It would be immortalized on the Wraith sampler in condensed form and later as a bonus DVD that came with the original Wraith CD. It is interesting to note that there was not 1, but 2 seminars, revealing the 6th that weekend. While the recorded seminar would be from Sunday July 21st, the first seminar would be Friday the 19th, as seen in this photo courtesy of 50187 Photography. This image would be the exact moment the Wraith would be revealed to the Juggalo world. Friday’s seminar was slated for 6pm but as is ugh, Psychopathic tradition, ICP would be late to their seminar arriving after Twiztid’s in the same hall. The Friday seminar would be the smaller of the two, holding around 300 people. It should be noted that Saturday’s seminar did not happen due to the police shutting the hall down after letting off tear gas in regards to a disgruntled crowds reaction to their stopping of a flasher. Sundays seminar would be in a larger hall due to the demand of witnessing the almighty 6th and would give the recorded version a more epic presentation. From all indications both seminars followed the same format, a history of the Jokers Cards, ICPs growth and what to expect from the 6th. “Every really good idea we had. Every bomb ass idea we said, we’ll save that for the 6th.” regardless if that line was truth or pure wrestling promo, the electricity regarding the 6th Jokers Card that weekend was undeniable. The era of the Wraith was officially in full swing.

On August 6th, Violent J would hit ICP.com to give his review of the 2002 Gathering. Below is an excerpt of J describing the excitement and nervousness of returning to the Juggalo world….

“We were all in a long convoy of cars: Twiztid, Blaze, ABK, Esham, Zug, and all of us. I had butterflies in my stomach the whole way there from Detroit. Joey and I hadn’t faced the Juggalos in eight long months. We knew what the 6th was like…we knew what it sounded like…we more than knew, fuck, we even had it in our pockets.  What would they think of it? Once we tell them what it is, what it’s called once we show them what it looks like, there is NO TURNING BACK. That’s it. Our official 6th Jokers card will be revealed.  We’ve been asked “So whats the 6th going to be” more than any other question. No more cards follow the 6th. It’s the ending to the saga that is the Dark Carnival. ICP has never been without Joker’s Cards mysteries surrounding us. Once the world knows the 6th. There is no more mystery to us. Did that bother us? Maybe during the last few years of the countdown but as soon as we got this point, it became magnificent. It’s like real magic, because we feel like we accomplished something so historically fresh in underground music. We fuckin couldn’t wait to get to Peroia, and Get it on!”

From there, the next stop on the road to the Wraith would be a autograph signing. August 18th, the Los Angeles Comic Book & Science Fiction Convention at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center. It would be here the first “taste” of the Wraith would come, with the first 6th Sampler. This initial release only available at the comic convention would look similar to the main sampler, but would come in a white paper sleeve. This version also would not include a track of the Gathering seminar.

For more on the lead up to the 6th, the Sampler, the Gathering Seminar, and the general vibes in the Juggalo world in the year 2002, check out Episode 0 and 0.5 of the 6th season.

1. WALK INTO THY LIGHT

2. Welcome To Thy Show

On the track Welcome To Thy Show J has the line “ I got neden waitin’ on me up in Shangri-La” which he goes on to explain in the ICP autobiography, Behind The Paint.

“Turns out that a few years after our encounter, she got bad into heroin, and then she overdosed just last year, I guess. That really fuckin’ sucks, man. I only knew her for one night of my life, and all we did was sex it up all night. Her friend even told me that the night we spent together was just as fresh to her as it was to me. That was extra fresh to hear. I even wrote about it (with the utmost respect) in the lyrics to “Welcome to Thy Show” on The Wraith: Shangri-La.”

STORY REGARDING FAITH HILL

EXTRA VERSE ON REMIX

3. Get Ya Wicked On

4. Murder Rap

5. Birthday Bitches

6. Blaaam!!!

7. It Rains Diamonds / Bitchslappaz

8. Thy Staleness

9. Hell's Forecast

Although the timelines seem to be a little foggy regarding tracks, the vast majority were written ahead of time and recorded in Dallas. The track Hell’s Forecast however was written and recorded elsewhere as J discusses this one in the ICP autobiography, Behind The Paint. “I walked. I was walking in the hot desert sun when i wrote the lyrics to “Hell’s Forecast”, when it goes, “The sun was so hot, oooooo, so hot, I was burning. Yeah.” I walked all up and down the strip, too, through the desert, and all that. My favorite place to walk in Vegas, though, was the abandoned neighborhood, near the airport. I guess the airport had bought out the neighborhood in order to make an expansion, or whatever, so this neighborhood was abandoned. The hoses were all dark. The streets were dark: no streetlights, no cars, no nothing. I loved walking through there, thinking.”

10. Juggalo Homies

11. Ain't Yo Bidness / Soopa Villains

As we have discussed this season, this was the Violent J walking era, that we dubbed “walking with The Wraith” and as mentioned in one of his Weekly Freakly entries, Ain’t Yo Bidness was his halfway marker.

“Ya know what I did today? I fuckin did what I try to do everyday. Smoke a fat ass blunt, and take a long ass walk with my fresh pair of headphones and listen to the Wraith. I always try not to get lost. I always walk away from the bus until around "Aint Yo Bidness" then I turn back around and head back to the bus. Sometimes, if the area is fresh enough, I'll listen twice and turn around when the record flips, like I did today. Boise, Idaho. Man, they got mountains everywhere and the city is all clean and its just a fresh ass area to be walking around. I was walking on a walking path threw these huge mountain valleys and shit. That shit was dope.”

12. We Belong

12. Cotton Candy & Popsicles

14. Crossing Thy Bridge

15. Thy Raven's Mirror

Thy Raven’s Mirror is a significant track on The Wraith because it would be the first one announced by Violent J in a online post, which is full of Juggalo mythology. On the right is our best guess on where he allegedly witnessed this site!

Today, the era of the Sixth Jokers Card began! It began in San Antonio, Texas in late afternoon. While what I tell you may sound outlandish and crazy, it is entirely true. In fact, if you are fast enough to make it there, you can see the effect WITH YOUR VERY OWN EYES!!!

It began with a giant storm... ominous dark clouds began moving into the city. At first everyone thought nothing of it. Storms are not uncommon... But no one expected the ferocity of this storm. Gallons and gallons of ice cold rain fell like bombs, stinging the face and blinding the crowds that assembled in the street. Roaring thunder filled the air, so loud that you couldn't even hear yourself scream... and the wind howled like a thousand tormented souls! The entire Psychopathic Crew, Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope, Syn, Sabu, Psychopathic Matt, Tom Dub, Billy Bill, and others, stood awestruck and a little bit frightened by the sight.

But what they were to see frightened them to the very core of their soul, and left them questioning their own sanity. A giant swarm of jet black crows and raven appeared on the horizon. It came closer, and closer, and closer, until it assembled over them. And it, clear as day, spelled out the FIRST SONG TITLE OF THE SIXTH JOKERS CARD!!! It spelled out "THE RAVEN'S MIRROR".

Now, you might be thinking that this is not true, that it is just hype for the Sixth Jokers Card. But it is not... In fact, if you head to downtown San Antonio Texas, on Durango Blv. YOU WILL SEE THIS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, AS I AM WRITING THIS!!! Juggalos, this is not a joke! If you live in San Antonio, you already know what is going on! Follow the crows to downtown on Durango Blv.! You will see ICP there, but even more impressive, you will see the messengers of the Dark Carnival ALIVE IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!!!

16. Thy Wraith

17. Thy Unveiling

Homies and Crossing Thy Bridge may have been the singles off of The Wraith, but the final track would go on to be the most notable for the big reveal at the end, and the reactions across the Juggalo world at the time. Many would be upset, thinking maybe ICP was now becoming a Christian musical act. J would touch on this reaction after the release.

“When we said what we said on track 17 of Shangri-La, it wasn’t even a question. It had to be said. The story was over. This is the brutal truth to the saga. The ending. That’s what i promised my mom i would say years ago. I always told her we’ll clear it all up for everybody on the 6th, ma.”

Also in the Detroit Free Press,"The music is now in color, where it was in black-and-white before," says J. "No, it's not happy-friendly John Denver music. But are we really going to stay mad at everything for 10 more years?" Shaggy chimes in. "It's all positive, man."

He would also touch on it years later in a 2017 Billboard interview. “That’s when we said that the Dark Carnival was God and all that. I sort of wish we would’ve referenced that differently; to a lot of people, God means Christian or Catholic, and neither Shaggy or I are any specific religion. I just meant The Creator. We believe in a higher power, having faith, the power of positive thinking and things like that.”

And in 2020 livestresm entitlted Top Five Freshness, ICP discussed the reveal.

“Violent J: I remember talking to Joey about that song, before we did it.
Shaggy: I don’t wanna get into the reasons why that was decided to do that particular song right there and whatnot, because that would be a whole different episode, but it was done for a very specific reason, you know what I’m saying? But yeah, it’s fucking awesome, man.
Violent J: It was exactly what it says, “Thy Unveiling,” you know what I’m saying? […] We were just flowing with the Dark Carnival when we wrote that, you know what I mean? It was like all there in the right place. The whole experience of recording the Sixth Joker’s Card was the best days of my life to this moment. You know, we had the best time, like, the best camaraderie with each other, the best luck in the studio, like, man, it was just as if all points pointing into the same thing, freshness.
Shaggy: We’ll never record another record like that, you know what I’m saying? Even if we tried, it wouldn’t be the same experience, you know what I’m saying? And I think it got captured on the record, like, how dope of a time we had, you know what I’m saying? Because man oh man, every night was a fucking adventure, you know what I’m saying? It was dope.
Violent J: Recording songs that are really positive can really lighten our entire fucking mood up, personally, as people, for like a week. Like, having made that, playing it in the car and shit, it like lightens our whole life up, so when we go to make a project like Shangri-La and spend eight months, a year, a year and a quarter, recording it, those are all really positive great times, you know? […] So don’t be mad at us if every once in a while we like to tell a good story when the people listening are our family, right? Not everything we say is gonna be morbid and grim when we’re talking to each other, get what I’m saying? Some of the things we say are positive.

One other note regarding thy Unveiling is it’s interpolation of the Prince track, The Cross. Although not a straight sample the guitar opening is played note for note from the track The Cross, which also was a song spiritual in its themes.

18. Wraith Wrap Up / 19. Mike P Interview / 20. Fritz on The Remix