Chicken Huntin'

"Chicken Huntin'"
Single by Insane Clown Posse
from the album Riddle Box
Released	August 28, 1995
Recorded	1993
Genre	Midwest hip hop
Length	4:08
Label	Battery/Psychopathic Records
Producer	ICP Mike Clark
Insane Clown Posse singles chronology
"Psychopathic" (1992) "Chicken Huntin'" (1995) "The Joker's Wild" (1995)

"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.^[1][2]

Content

The lyrics describe Insane Clown Posse meeting and killing multiple racist rednecks, referred to as 'Chickens'.^[3]

The concept stems from the group's anti-bigotry philosophy, based on various experiences witnessed by group member Joseph Bruce.^[4] As a teenager, he had briefly lived in Bonnie Doone, North Carolina, a trailer park town just outside of Fort Bragg, where his brother Robert had been staying with the U.S. Army. There, Joseph witnessed firsthand the hatred and open racism directed toward African American citizens, as well as the minorities serving in the Army, and became disgusted and infuriated with the actions that took place.^[4]

In an interview with Murder Dog, Bruce said that the song is not directed toward all Southerners. He stated that "if you’re a redneck and you’re not a racist, then obviously you know that I’m not talkin’ about you. But [in the song] I’m talkin’ about the racist fuckin’ rednecks that fuck their daughters. It just makes me sick."^[3]

Music videos

After signing a distribution deal with Jive Records' short-lived imprint, Battery Records, the group received funds to produce a music video for the song. Joseph and Robert Bruce developed their own concept for the video, but the director changed their plans, and the final concept instead featured Insane Clown Posse performing actions which Joseph Bruce later described as "[Some of] the stupidest thing[s] I had ever heard of."^[5] Because the group and the label were disappointed with the video, it was not publicly released at the time, although it later appeared on Psychopathic: The Videos in 2007.^[5]

The music video for the "Slaughter House Mix" was shot at the State Theatre during an actual Insane Clown Posse concert. The director of the video, Paris Mayhew, wanted Insane Clown Posse to perform the song several times in order to get the footage from all angles, but the duo refused to repeat the song because it was an actual concert, and not just a video shoot. The video was shot with the group performing the song only once.^[6] The original version of "Chicken Huntin'" was performed for the video shoot, because their fans were not yet familiar with the remix. This made Jive furious, but there were no editing problems, and Violent J later referred to the video as "our freshest video ever."^[6]

Remixes and cover versions

As the group began production on its third studio album, Riddle Box, Jive Records produced a remix of the song which was rejected by Insane Clown Posse, leading the group to produce its own remix, the "Slaughter House Mix", which appeared on the new album.^[5] In 2009, Mike E. Clark produced a third remix for Psychopathic Murder Mix Volume 1.^[7] The same year, a cover of the song by Esham and Poe Whosaine appeared on Smith's "Bomb Ass Podcast" in June.^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Chicken Huntin' (Slaughterhouse Mix)"	ICP	Mike E. Clark/D. Greenburg/H. Dodd/M. Niles	Mike E. Clark, D. Greenburg, H. Dodd, M. Niles and ICP
2.	"Chicken Huntin' (Slaughterhouse Inst)"	ICP	Mike E. Clark/D. Greenburg/H. Dodd/M. Niles	Mike E. Clark, D. Greenburg, H. Dodd, M. Niles and ICP
3.	"I Didn't Mean to Kill Him"	ICP	Mike E. Clark	Mike E. Clark and ICP
4.	"Fabulous"	ICP	Mike E. Clark	Mike E. Clark and ICP
5.	"Riddle Box Sampler"	ICP	Mike E. Clark	Mike E. Clark and ICP
6.	"Chicken Huntin' (Original Recipe)"	ICP	Mike E. Clark	Mike E. Clark and ICP

References

1. ^ Joseph Calmer (1 December 2000). "Insane Clown Posse back with racy double album". The Lantern. http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2000/12/01/ArtsEntertainment/Insane.Clown.Posse.Back.With.Racy.Double.Album-51703.shtml. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
2. ^ Mike Breen (12 January 2001). "Mucho Eminem-bashing from fellow Detroit absurdist rap clowns...". IPC Media. http://www.nme.com/reviews/name/3798. Retrieved 8 July 2009. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b} Friedman, David. "Interview with Violent J". Murder Dog. http://www.murderdog.com/archives/icp/Insane_Clown_Posse.html. Retrieved 2009-07-08. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b} Bruce, Joseph; Hobey Echlin (August 2003). "Rude Boy and the Magical Land of Toxic Waste". In Nathan Fostey. ICP: Behind the Paint (2nd ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 106–119. ISBN 09741846083. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Bruce, Joseph; Hobey Echlin (August 2003). "Ringmaster's Word". In Nathan Fostey. ICP: Behind the Paint (2nd ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 231–237. ISBN 09741846083. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Bruce, Joseph; Hobey Echlin (August 2003). "Fuck Jive". In Nathan Fostey. ICP: Behind the Paint (2nd ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 262–263. ISBN 09741846083. 
7. ^ "Exclusive Interview: Mike E. Clark!". Hatchet Herald (Psychopathic Records) 2 (2). May 21, 2009. http://www.psychopathicrecords.com/hatchetherald/090521/. Retrieved 2009-05-24. 
8. ^ Smith, Esham (June 2009). A Hellava Night!! The Bomb Ass Podcast (podcast). Reel Life Productions. Event occurs at 21:32. http://media.libsyn.com/media/gothomrecords/hellavanightpodcast.mp3. Retrieved 1 July 2009.