From Gimme Noise:

Twiztid refuse to be anything other than themselves. The maniacal rap duo of Jamie Madrox and Monoxide Child have been terrorizing ears with their style of hardcore hip-hop known as horrorcore since 1997. Originally members of Insane Clown Posse’s Psychopathic Records label, they have since formed their own independent label and are currently embarking on a nationwide tour.

Juggalo culture is often misunderstood. Yet, members of the “family” continue to grow in numbers, as media outlets scramble to properly capture and adequately describe the movement. Gimme Noise gave Twiztid the opportunity to tell their side of the story before their show at Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis this Wednesday.

Gimme Noise: I want to talk about Juggalos.

Monoxide: America can never embrace something it doesn’t in fact create or understand. The fact that mainstream America had nothing to do with the creation of it will be a terror on their minds forever, and the fact that they don’t quite understand it… it will never be accepted. There’s a reason for that. Maybe we’re just not meant to be accepted by the masses like that. Maybe our voice isn’t for the masses, right?

Madrox: Another idea and concept of the “Juggalo,” when we first came into it, is essentially we’ll always carry the stigma of being a fan of Insane Clown Posse. When we first came on, that’s in a sense what we are, and we understood the culture, and so on and so forth, but we’re trying to do our thing as well.

Monoxide: What people don’t know is that everybody is a Juggalo. They don’t want to admit it, but everybody is one. Even you…

People are jealous… They shun it. They say it’s worthless, it’s pointless, but I’ll guarantee you this: we have saved as many lives as any fucking police officer, any fucking counselor, any psycho therapist. We’re right up there with them…

When we hear some fucking douchebag on Saturday Night Live cracking jokes about it, or some douchebag on a fucking sitcom cracking jokes about it, making fun of us… we don’t take too lightly to that shit. It’s insulting, and for you to just peek your head in our world long enough to make fun of it and not have any repercussion — that’s not fair.

You will not challenge us. You will not make fun of us. You will either understand us and roll with us, or you will forget about us and move along with your life, or we will make it a fucking nightmare.

That’s all life is. It’s one fucking nightmare, where you try to wake up every day. We’re just kind of riding along with it; we’re not trying to wake up anymore.

How do your parents feel about Twiztid?

Monoxide: My mom loves it. She’s sitting in a house that Twiztid bought her. My parents, in the beginning, they didn’t understand just the whole rap thing. It was such a gamble. It still is to this day, but then it was so unheard of, and then to be white on top of it? They just were like, “Do what you’re going to do, but if it doesn’t work, we’re not going to be surprised.”

We saw that we had a genuine relationship to be built with these kids and it became so it had nothing to do with ICP. They merely opened the door for us, and we’ll love them for that, the same way they should love us for taking that opportunity and actually doing something with it, and not just sitting there draining them and just running them into the ground.

Madrox: We’re that story of the Juggalos who made good. We started off as fans, and we climbed the ladder and we learned, and we actually made something of ourselves. At one time, we were standing on the other side of the barricade. Now we’re on the stage. That’s a great feeling, and it actually shows other people who are fans of the music that you can do something too.

How would you describe yourselves to people who have never heard of you?

Monoxide: We’re a horror movie on CD. We’re a nightmare that comes to life musically. We’re a horror movie with the boundaries of a nightmare, where nightmares have no boundaries. We’re boundless, and we represent the wicked shit.

Madrox: We are a daymare and a nightdream.

Monoxide: Straight up mare’in… When you say you rap, people get the wrong picture. Then they see that we’re white, and they’re just like, ‘What the fuck?’

Madrox: Where’s this going to go? Then they hear there’s paint involved, and they’re just like, “Wait, what?”

Monoxide: In the beginning, it was a blast, but once you’ve done it, how many times, how many different ways can you kill somebody? You really have to become creative. Now it’s beyond just writing a song. Now you’re pitching a movie. You’re pitching a scene in a movie. It’s not just another goddamn song about murder. We specialize in death.

What is the craziest thing you have seen at one of your shows?

Monoxide: I’ve seen somebody set somebody on fire. We had somebody come on our tour bus and try to get us with a samurai sword. We beat the shit out of him. For the guy that got set on fire, we really couldn’t do shit. We just saw this girl try to stab this girl, that was crazy as shit.

What kind of advice would you give to someone who is about to be at their first ever Twiztid show?

Monoxide: Just do you. It’s the one place you can come and be you. There’s no judging there. I mean, don’t come there trying to fucking molest kids, you pedophile, we’ll fucking kill you.

Madrox: Yeah, what the fuck, man?

Monoxide: But if you wanna come there and have a good time, ball out.

Madrox: You’re gonna have a good time. You’re gonna get your face rocked off. You’re gonna leave being like, ‘When’s the next one?’

Monoxide: Our shit is becoming huge with the rave kids. They used to go to raves; now they come to our shit and they’re all lit up like fucking U.F.O.’s. It’s the craziest shit but it’s amazing.

Are you big ravers?

Madrox: We gave it up for Lent.

Monoxide: We’ve never been concertgoers; we’ve never been big event-goers. We’re private people. Believe it or not, we share as much as we can, but behind the scenes… you come on our tour bus, it’s two fucking businessmen. It’s not a goddamn party. There’s not coke and whores everywhere. It just is what it is. We’re not that. There’s such a bigger picture than us just going around having sex with all the groupies and doing all the drugs we can.

What do you want people to know about you that maybe they misunderstand or that they haven’t gotten a chance to know?

Monoxide: I want them to know that we are here for them. We are the voice you fucking never had. That’s us. We are the reason to not go out and murder. Put us on and let us murder for you, so you can go on and live your life. Shit gets too deep? We’re here for you. That’s what we are.

Madrox: Let us be your audio medicine.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Monoxide: Being the voice of the people that were never listened to. Being savers of lives, being exactly what the fuck we are right now. If we died today, that’s exactly what the people that mattered would know us for.

Madrox: The impact that we have on so many people’s lives is truly amazing. It’s a blessing to be able to have that many people say that and just be…you changed my life, you helped me, you saved me. That’s beautiful.

Monoxide: And then in the same breath, you have their fucking parents say something negative about it. Like, look, assholes, if it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have a fucking son or daughter. We’re the only thing keeping them sane, keeping them from killing you in your fucking sleep. You need to recognize. Like, God bless America! It doesn’t make sense. It really doesn’t.

This is just the beginning. I promise you that. Everybody needs to band together and regardless of what the fuck its about, look at what it’s really, truly about — control. That’s what it is. If you think they’re going to stop, then you don’t know America. America is a bottomless feeding pit that is never full. Never full. We can destroy this? What else can we fucking shut down and destroy that we don’t understand or agree with?

The gloves are off. You want to come and try to attack us? You will pay for it one hundred percent. You will pay for it, because with us, there is no stigma. There is nothing. We’re the biggest kept secret in music. We’re what you truly need to be afraid of, but for all the wrong reasons. Afraid of us because you don’t understand it, you’ve never taken the time, and yet it’s still humongous. It’s so huge, even with your hate. Why not just try to figure it out and understand it? Quit using energy to hate something for no fucking reason.

Madrox: Get a hobby.

What are your big plans for the future?

Monoxide: We’re launching a record label. We’re launching the next 25 years of horrorcore, of wicked shit. That’s what we’re doing.