Dark Lotus BLACK RAIN

Dark Lotus includes: Violent J, Jaime Madrox, Shaggy 2 Dope, Monoxide Child, ABK, Blaze Ya Dead Homie.
Juggalos unite! The unusually devoted fans of Insane Clown Posse and the group's various offshoots (Anybody Killa, Violent J, etc.) made BLACK RAIN one of the most eagerly awaited hip-hop albums of 2004. Dark Lotus didn't disappoint, delivering a sprawling epic awash with all the usual elements of the Psychopathic Records aesthetic--slamming, rock-influenced beats combined with gangsta-meets-slasher-flick lyrical imagery and an intentionally juvenile sense of humor so severely warped that Beavis and Butthead themselves might feel unsettled. Of course, Dark Lotus is nothing if not dark, and the album's unrelentingly nightmarish quality lifts tracks like "Hell House" and "Consume Your Soul" above mere kitsch to the level of truly frightening. In addition, even a cursory listen reveals that these guys are consummate craftsmen as well as jokers, delivering their rapid-fire raps, gargantuan grooves, and insanely catchy riffs with a sense of fun that makes creating fierce underground hip-hop sound deceptively easy.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock