Hokus Pokus (song)

Last updated
"Hokus Pokus"
Insane Clown Posse Hokus Pokus.jpeg
Single by Insane Clown Posse
from the album The Great Milenko
ReleasedJune 1, 1997
Recorded1996–1997
Genre
Length4:21
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Insane Clown Posse singles chronology
"Halls of Illusions"
(1997)
"Hokus Pokus"
(1997)
"Santa's a Fat Bitch"
(1997)

"Hokus Pokus" is a song written by Insane Clown Posse and Mike E. Clark for the duo's 1997 studio album, The Great Milenko . A music video was produced for the Jason Nevins "Headhunta'z Remix" of the song in 1997. The single peaked at number 53 on the UK Singles Chart the following year. The song's chorus uses the "Streets of Cairo" melody.

Contents

Release

"Hokus Pokus" was released in 1997 as the second single from Insane Clown Posse's studio album The Great Milenko . [1] The release was exclusive to Europe as a part of Island Records' attempt to promote the group internationally. [1] The single was released in three different versions, with each featuring a remix of the song by Jason Nevins [2] [3] entitled "Hokus Pokus (Headhunta'z Remix)". [1] The single peaked at number 54 on the UK Singles Chart that year. [4] A vinyl version of the single was also released in Europe later that year. [1]

Nevins' "Headhunta'z Remix" was later featured on Insane Clown Posse's rarities album Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2 .

Music video

A music video for "Hokus Pokus (Nevins Headhunta'z Mix)" was produced in 1997 after the release of The Great Milenko. [1] The entire video was filmed during the day, as to avoid overtime costs. [1] It features a comical portrayal of Insane Clown Posse destroying a shoe store before being pursued by security guards. [1] The video also included appearances by hip hop artists Twiztid and Myzery. [1]

Commercial performance

On September 6, 2022, the song certified Gold by the RIAA, signifying sales of 500,000 equivalent units. [5]

Track listing

Hokus Pokus (Green)
No.TitleLength
1."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z edit)3:54
2."My Kind of Bitch"5:33
3."Prom Queen"4:45
4."Skitsofrantic"3:30
Total length:17:42
Hokus Pokus (Orange)
No.TitleLength
1."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z edit; intro 2)3:54
2."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z instrumental)3:48
3."Hokus Pokus" (LP version)4:22
4."Prom Queen"5:33
Total length:17:37
Hokus Pokus (Red)
No.TitleLength
1."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z edit)3:54
2."Hokus Pokus" (radio edit)3:40
3."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z instrumental)3:48
4."Hokus Pokus" (LP version)4:22
Total length:15:44
Hokus Pokus (Vinyl)
No.TitleLength
1."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z edit; intro 2)3:54
2."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z instrumental)3:48
3."Hokus Pokus" (Headhunta'z edit; intro 1)3:54
4."Hokus Pokus" (LP version)4:22
Total length:15:58

Charts

Chart performance for "Hokus Pokus"
Chart (1998)Peak
position
UK Singles Chart [4] 53

Certifications

Certifications for "Hokus Pokus"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [5] Gold500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Great Milenko</i> 1997 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Great Milenko is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on June 24, 1997, by Hollywood Records in association with Psychopathic Records. As the fourth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology, the album's lyrics focus on the titular Great Milenko, who is a necromancer.

<i>Riddle Box</i> 1996 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Riddle Box is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, released in 1996 on Battery Records and Island Records in association with Psychopathic Records. It is the third Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. It was released a second time by Battery Records and Jive Records. In 2008 it was re-released on a Riddle Box vinyl record. The album was the first Insane Clown Posse album in which the group worked with studio vocalist and guitarist Rich Murrell, who would work with the group throughout much of their career under the name Legz Diamond. It was released in four different versions, and earned a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2008, Riddle Box was re-released on vinyl double LP format. In 2015, Psychopathic Records reissued the album in a 20th anniversary edition, featuring bonus tracks.

<i>Hells Pit</i>

The Wraith: Hell's Pit is the ninth studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. It was released on August 31, 2004 via Psychopathic Records as a follow-up to 2002 The Wraith: Shangri-La and second half of the sixth and final Joker Card in the first Deck of the Dark Carnival mythology. Recording sessions took place at the Lotus Pod in Detroit. Production was handled by ICP themselves.

<i>Ringmaster</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Ringmaster is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, and their second Joker Card in the first Deck of the Dark Carnival mythology. It was originally released on March 8, 1994 via Psychopathic Records and was reissued in 1998 through Island Records. Recording sessions took place at 313 Studio in Detroit. Production was handled by Mike E. Clark and ICP themselves. It features guest appearances from Capitol E and Jumpsteady. The album's lyrics describe the leader of the Carnival, who serves as one of the judges of one's soul in the afterlife, as being created from the listener's own evils.

<i>The Amazing Jeckel Brothers</i> 1999 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Amazing Jeckel Brothers is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on May 25, 1999, by Island Records, in association with Psychopathic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1998 to 1999. The album is the fifth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. The album's lyrics focus on the nine circles of hell and the morality of man as he is torn between righteousness and evil. The album's titular Jeckel Brothers are spirits who juggle balls of fire, representing the sins committed during the mortal life of the dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twiztid</span> American hip hop duo

Twiztid is an American hip hop duo from Livonia, Michigan, known for both their horror-themed lyrics and rock-influenced sound. Formed in 1997, Twiztid is composed of rappers Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo and Paul "Monoxide" Methric. Spaniolo and Methric are also members of the group House of Krazees with Bryan "The R.O.C." Jones, which formed in 1992.

<i>Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2</i> 1998 compilation album by Insane Clown Posse

Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2 is a rarities album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released in 1998, it features unreleased and lost tracks that are harder to find elsewhere. It also contains some tracks that were remixed or changed. Before this album's release the ICP released Forgotten Freshness in 1995, but because of sample-clearing problems it was only released in the Detroit area and the mid-west. Many of the tracks on that album appeared again on these albums for wider distribution purposes.

Hocus-pocus is an exclamation used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change.

Jason Nevins is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of "It's Like That" by American hip hop group Run–D.M.C. and his multi-million selling production of "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Like That (Run-D.M.C. song)</span> 1983 single by Run-D.M.C.

"It's Like That" is the debut single of American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released in 1983 by Profile Records. The song was remixed by house DJ Jason Nevins in 1997. His version was originally released in 1997 on 10-inch vinyl in the United States and became a sleeper hit in 1998. It sold around five million copies worldwide, placing it amongst the biggest selling singles of all time. In 2008, it was ranked number 40 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insane in the Brain</span> 1993 single by Cypress Hill

"Insane in the Brain" is a song by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, released in June 1993 by Ruffhouse and Columbia as the first single from the group's second album, Black Sunday (1993). In addition to hitting number one on the US rap chart, the song also was a mainstream hit, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. It earned a 3x platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and sold 3,000,000 copies domestically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Me or Hate Me</span> 2006 single by Lady Sovereign

"Love Me or Hate Me" is the sixth single from English grime artist Lady Sovereign and the fourth from her debut album Public Warning. The single was confirmed for release by her official website and was released in October 2006. The song was produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. The video features Lady Sovereign appearing in Tetris-style blocks, and acting out certain lyrics of the song.

<i>Jugganauts: The Best of Insane Clown Posse</i> 2007 greatest hits album by Insane Clown Posse

Jugganauts: The Best of Insane Clown Posse is the ninth compilation album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released by Island Records, the album contains songs from 1997 to 2000, from the albums The Great Milenko, The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, Bizzar and Bizaar. It is the group's 25th overall release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homies (Insane Clown Posse song)</span> 2002 single by Insane Clown Posse featuring Twiztid

"Homies" is a song written by Insane Clown Posse, Mike Puwal and Twiztid for ICP's 2002 album The Wraith: Shangri-La. After the 1992 single "Psychopathic", "Homies" is the second single released by the group to not be produced by Mike E. Clark, who had stopped working with Psychopathic Records due to a disagreement with ICP's Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler. Clark later produced a remix of the song, which appeared on Forgotten Freshness Volume 4, after Clark reconciled with ICP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Go All the Way (song)</span> 1985 single by Sly Fox

"Let's Go All the Way" is a song by American musical group Sly Fox. Released as a single in 1985 from their debut album of the same name, it entered the top 10 of the singles charts in both the US and the UK the following year. Despite receiving considerable commercial and critical success, the group failed to match expectations with their later singles, and are sometimes referred to as a one-hit wonder. Original MTV veejay Martha Quinn has described "Let's Go All the Way" as "one of the funkiest songs ever."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halls of Illusions</span> 1997 single by Insane Clown Posse featuring Slash

"Halls of Illusions" is the first single by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse from their fourth studio album, The Great Milenko. The song shows their hate towards child abuse and domestic violence and the damage their victims suffer. The lyrics speak about child abusers and woman beaters who take a hellish amusement park ride representing a fun-house to reflect upon their actions. They are shown the consequences of their ways as they pass through the "Halls of Illusions". These illusions show what their lives could have been if they had chosen not to inflict violence and pain upon their families who have been destroyed by the abuse. The clean version of the music video removes all language and graphic violence by changing the lyrics. Slash was featured in the song performing background rhythm guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insane Clown Posse</span> American hip hop duo from Michigan

Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989, ICP's best-known lineup consists of rappers Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore and is known for its elaborate live performances. The duo has earned two platinum and five gold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the entire catalog of the group had sold 6.5 million units in the United States and Canada as of April 2007. The group has established a dedicated following called Juggalos numbering in the "tens of thousands".

<i>Psychopathic Murder Mix Volume 2</i> 2010 remix album by Mike E. Clark

Psychopathic Murder Mix Volume 2 is a remix album by Mike E. Clark. Released on November 9, 2010 , it features mashups and remixes of songs by Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, Jamie Madrox, Boondox, Three 6 Mafia, Samhain Witch Killers, and Blaze Ya Dead Homie. It also features appearances by Tone Tone, Kottonmouth Kings, and Bootleg of The Dayton Family.

Nene Encarnacion, also known as Myzery, is a Puerto Rican rapper based out of the Bronx in New York City. He was the first solo act signed with Psychopathic Records, and released his debut EP titled Para La Isla on the label in 1998. Following his departure from Psychopathic Records, Myzery continued to release albums independently. He later returned to Psychopathic Records to release 2018's The Demon Angel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Every 1's a Winner (song)</span> 1978 single by Hot Chocolate

"Every 1's a Winner" is the third single from the 1978 Hot Chocolate album of the same name. The single was released on 4 March 1978 on RAK Records in the UK and Infinity Records in the US. It peaked at #12 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100; it was the band's second-highest-charting single in the US, behind "You Sexy Thing".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bruce, Joseph; Echlin, Hobey (August 2003). "Insane Clown Posse Complete Discography". In Nathan Fostey (ed.). ICP: Behind the Paint (2nd ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 556–562. ISBN   0-9741846-0-8.
  2. "Insane Clown Posse – Hokus Pokus (Headhunta'z Remix)".
  3. "Insane Clown Posse – Hokus Pokus (Jason Nevins Mix) (1998, Vinyl)". Discogs .
  4. 1 2 "UK Singles - 1952-2010". Polyhex. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  5. 1 2 "American single certifications – Insane Clown Posse – Hokus Pokus". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved September 6, 2022.