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.
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers was the second studio album Insane Clown Posse released by Island. The Amazing Jeckel Brothers features guest appearances by rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard and Snoop Dogg, and additional contributions by The Jerky Boys and Twiztid. It debuted at number four on the Billboard charts and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Background
After a tumultuous contract with Jive Records sub-label Battery in 1995, Insane Clown Posse (ICP) attempted to find a new record label. Manager Alex Abbiss negotiated a contract with the Walt Disney Company-owned label Hollywood Records, which reportedly paid US$1 million to purchase the Insane Clown Posse contract from Battery/Jive Records.
After recording and releasing The Great Milenko, Insane Clown Posse was notified that Hollywood Records had deleted the album within hours of its release, despite having sold 18,000 copies and reaching #63 on the Billboard 200. It was later revealed that Disney was being criticized by the Southern Baptist Church. The church claimed Disney was turning its back on family values.
In due time, labels such as Interscope Records wanted to sign the group, Thanks to the controversy, and additional promotion by Island, over one million copies of The Great Milenko had been sold by 1998, and Insane Clown Posse was ready for the fifth Joker's Card, The Amazing Jeckel Brothers.
Recording and production
Working with Mike E. Clark and Rich "Legz Diamond" Murrell, Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler developed their album with the highest of hopes. Hoping to receive the respect Bruce and Utsler felt they deserved, they planned to feature well-known, respected rappers on their album. Snoop Dogg requested that Insane Clown Posse not pay his then-current record label, No Limit Records, and said that he would appear on the album if Bruce and Utsler gave him "$40,000 in a briefcase". Insane Clown Posse agreed, and Snoop Dogg appeared on the song "The Shaggy Show", which also featured the ska band Gangster Fun playing music before each of the song's faux commercial breaks. Insane Clown Posse also unsuccessfully attempted to contact Ice Cube to collaborate with them.
Snoop Dogg also helped them contact Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was paid $30,000 for his appearance. Ol' Dirty Bastard recorded his track in a matter of two days; however, his recording consisted of nothing more than him rambling about "bitches."
To help increase their positive publicity, Island Records hired the Nasty Little Man publicity team. horrorcore, and rap rock. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "Where The Great Milenko [...] was targeted at white-boy, adolescent metalheads [...] The Amazing Jeckel Brothers contains cameos from Snoop Dogg and Ol' Dirty Bastard, plus a cover of a Geto Boys song, which brings [Insane Clown Posse] to street level." "Another Love Song" was based upon Beck's song "Jack-Ass", which itself was derived from a sample of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". Bruce loved the song and wanted to rewrite it in his own style. Although the group "lifted the riff from Beck", since Beck's song sampled the Dylan composition, Insane Clown Posse's sample was cleared with Dylan rather than Beck.
Lyrical themes
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The Amazing Jeckel Brothers debuted and peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200. In order to promote the album, Island released multiple collectible versions of The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, emphasizing the faces of Jake or Jack Jeckel. In 2008, it achieved platinum certification.
The album received mostly negative reviews from critics. NME wrote that "the slick, dumbed-down Dungeons & Dragons rap-rock schtick [...] is often unbearable". Rolling Stone writer Barry Walters gave the album two out of five stars, writing that "no musical sleight of hand can disguise the fact that Shaggy and J remain the ultimate wack MCs."
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