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Mike E. Clark | |
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| Birth name | Michael Earl Clark |
| Born | December 25, 1962 |
| Origin | Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, disc jockey |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Website | mikeclark |
Michael Earl Clark (born December 25, 1962) is an American record producer and DJ from Michigan, best known for working with Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Prozak and Mickey Avalon. Clark has also worked with George Clinton, Patti Smith and R.L. Burnside.
Clark was born on December 25, 1962, and raised in Roseville, Michigan, He took an early interest in music and the first album Clark received was a greatest hits compilation by Sonny & Cher as a Valentine's Day gift from his mother. [1] Clark later discovered Warren Zevon, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols and The Stooges. [1] After graduating from high school, Clark took classes on music production at the Recording Institute in Eastpointe, Michigan, and soon got a job at The Disc Ltd. [1]
Clark worked as an assistant engineer on Patti Smith's "Wild Leaves", the B-side of the single "People Have the Power", which appeared on Smith's 1988 album Dream of Life . [2] During this period, Clark met Kid Rock, and helped produce demos that led to Jive Records signing the aspiring rapper. [2] Clark's talent for producing hip hop music earned him the nickname "The Funky Honky". [1] In 1989, he helped engineer (and played keyboard on) the debut album of Esham.
For Kid Rock's debut album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast , Clark produced the single "Yo-Da-Lin In The Valley". [2] During the recording of Insane Clown Posse's Carnival of Carnage , the group's manager, Alex Abbiss, hired Clark to produce the album, which featured appearances from Esham and Kid Rock. [3] [4] Clark continued to work with the group and various associated acts on its label, Psychopathic Records. Clark has been involved with the production of albums by George Clinton, R. L. Burnside, and Primal Scream. [2]
In 2000, Clark began working on Dark Lotus' debut album, Tales from the Lotus Pod , and Insane Clown Posse's sixth and seventh albums, Bizzar and Bizaar , but had a falling-out with members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. According to Clark, "It seemed like too much was going on, and I wasn't sure about the material. I needed a break. I was frazzled, we weren't getting along, so that was it." [1] Clark produced four songs for Tales from the Lotus Pod; the album's production was completed by Twiztid producer Fritz the Cat. [5]
In 2001 Clark then started his own record label B4 Records producing records for local acts Dead By 28 and Abstrakt Intellekt. Unfortunately these bands proved to be unprofitable.
Clark and rapper Prozak formed the group Project: Deadman, releasing its debut album, Self Inflicted, in 2004, and touring the United States for six months. [1] [6] That year, Clark became a full-time engineer for Kid Rock. Clark contracted pneumonia, but ignored the illness, and began coughing severely as he awoke, leading to a three-month stay in Mount Clemens General Hospital, during which one of his lungs collapsed three times. [1]
As the result of his near-death experience, Clark decided to reconcile with J and Shaggy. Phone conversations between Clark and Insane Clown Posse led to Clark producing Utsler's 2006 solo album F.T.F.O. [1] In 2007, Clark produced the Kid Rock single "All Summer Long", which was musically based upon a mash-up of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". [7] The same year, Clark produced Insane Clown Posse's tenth album The Tempest , but did not work with the group directly. [8] [9]
In 2009, Clark produced the group's eleventh studio album, Bang! Pow! Boom! , the first album that Clark worked on directly with J and Shaggy since Bizzar and Bizaar. [8] [10] Three years later, Clark produced the group's twelfth studio album The Mighty Death Pop! , as well as the bonus albums Smothered, Covered & Chunked , Freaky Tales , & Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium .
Mike E. Clark is known for providing an eclectic musical approach in his hip hop production. In Barry Walters' Rolling Stone review of The Amazing Jeckel Brothers , Walters wrote that Clark's production incorporates elements of "carnival organ riffs, power chords and shotgun blasts...banjolike plucking and Van Halen-esque guitar squeals." [11] Allrovi writer David Jeffries called Clark's production style a fusion of electro, funk and "Oingo Boingo-like mad-clown melodies", comparing Clark to George Clinton and Danny Elfman. [12]
Clark has cited numerous influences on his music, including punk and heavy metal artists such as Rob Zombie, Black Sabbath, The Cramps, The Clash, Fugazi, and System of a Down, [13] funk musicians Rick James, Prince, James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, [13] blues, jazz and R&B musicians like Serge Gainsbourg, Al Green, Billie Holiday, Curtis Mayfield, Buddy Miles, Bessie Smith and Howlin' Wolf, [13] alternative musicians like Beck, Faith No More, Hüsker Dü, Pixies and Ween, [13] progressive rock artists Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa, [13] and hip hop artists such as Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, Geto Boys, Grandmaster Flash and N.W.A, [13] as well as artists David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Bob Marley, Klaus Nomi, War, Yoko Ono and Warren Zevon, [13] and producers Rick Rubin and Phil Spector. [13]
A juggalo is a fan of the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse or any other hip hop group signed to Psychopathic Records. Juggalos have developed their own idioms, slang, and characteristics. The Gathering of the Juggalos, alternatively known as just "The Gathering", is a notable annual festival held by juggalos and the artists that they support, which have included rap stars such as Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, and MC Hammer; over its first eleven events (2000–2010), the festival drew a total attendance of about 107,500 fans, averaging nearly 9,800 per year, with a peak of 20,000 in 2010.
The Wraith: Shangri-La is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on November 5, 2002, by Psychopathic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2002 at multiple recording studios throughout the United States. The album is the first of two albums representing the sixth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. The album's lyrics describe the titular Wraith's exhibition of heaven.
Carnival of Carnage is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on October 18, 1992, by Psychopathic Records.
Riddle Box is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, released in October 1995 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.
Ringmaster is the second studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on March 8, 1994, by Psychopathic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 1993 at The Tempermill Studio. The album is the second Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. 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.
Dark Lotus was an American hip hop group based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Formed in 1998 as a side project of Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid, Dark Lotus was a representative of the horrorcore subgenre. From 1998 to 2017, Dark Lotus' lineup changed multiple times, with the most consistent members of the group being Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope, Jamie Madrox, Monoxide and Blaze Ya Dead Homie.
Psychopathic Records is an American independent record label headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The label is most associated with the hip-hop music subgenres horrorcore and rap rock. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. The iconography of a man with a meat cleaver has been used for years as a symbol of the group, its fanbase, and its associates.
Bizaar is the sixth studio album by the American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released on October 31, 2000, by Island Records in association with Psychopathic Records, it is the first half of the Bizaar Bizzar double album, released the same day as its companion album, Bizzar. It is the 14th overall release by Insane Clown Posse.
Bizzar is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released on October 31, 2000, by Island Records, it is the second half of the Bizzar Bizaar double album, released the same day as its companion album, Bizaar. It is the group's 15th overall release.
The Terror Wheel is the second EP by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on August 5, 1994, by Psychopathic Records. It is the second "sideshow" entry in the group's Dark Carnival saga. The EP contains six studio tracks. "The Dead Body Man" which was subsequently re-released in 1995 on Insane Clown Posse's third studio album Riddle Box, in a slightly higher key. "The Dead Body Man" received significant local radio play in Detroit following the release of The Terror Wheel. The song "The Smog" was originally known as "The Swarm", and was about a deadly swarm of insects. "The Smog" was also intended to be released on Riddle Box. The final track on the album contained a number you could call to find out the name of the next Joker's Card, Riddle Box. The cover of the album is from the Moby single, Go
Dog Beats is a 1991 EP by Inner City Posse, later to be known as Insane Clown Posse. Having previously created and released three homemade "basement tapes" that were recorded on cassette via karaoke machine, Dog Beats was both the Inner City Posse's first release to be recorded professionally and was also the first record ever released by Psychopathic Records.
Tunnel of Love is the fourth EP by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on April 19, 1996, by Psychopathic Records. It is the third and final "sideshow" entry in the group's Dark Carnival saga.
The Tempest is the tenth studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. Released in 2007, the album marks the return of producer Mike E. Clark, who had a falling-out with the duo in 2000. However, he did not collaborate directly with ICP, and would not do so until their 2009 album Bang! Pow! Boom!
"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.
"Fuck the World" is a song by hip hop duo, Insane Clown Posse, performed by member Violent J, and is their second single from their album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers. The song is one of their best known, notable for using the word "fuck" 105 times, 93 times by Violent J, 10 times by Shaggy 2 Dope, and twice by Jumpsteady.
"Chicken Huntin'" is a single by hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, from their second studio album, Ringmaster. The "Slaughter House Mix", from the group's third studio album, Riddle Box, has become one the duo's most popular songs.
Bang! Pow! Boom! is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released on September 1, 2009 by Psychopathic Records, it was the group's second album with producer Mike E. Clark since his return to Psychopathic Records, and the first album to focus on the Dark Carnival since the conclusion of the group's original "Joker's Cards" series. The character is the first of a set of six new Joker's Cards.
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".
Psychopathic Records is an American independent record label based in Farmington Hills, Michigan that specializes in hip hop music. Owned by Insane Clown Posse members Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, the label was founded by the group and their manager Alex Abbiss in 1991. Then known as Inner City Posse, the group released the label's first album, Dog Beats, that year. Since its foundation, the label has featured 23 artists and bands from the United States, predominantly around Detroit, Michigan.
Richard Murrell is an American guitarist and singer from Detroit, Michigan, United States, better known as Legz Diamond. A former member of the rock band Coup Detroit, Murrell is best known as an affiliate of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, for which he has provided production work, guitar and backing vocals and has also served as a Ring Announcer on their JCW wrestling tours. In 2013, Murrell signed as a solo artist with Psychopathic Records.
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