Dog Beats - Release

Release

Dog Beats was Psychopathic Records' first release; Bruce wanted the album to be "available everywhere" because people would not expect a local act to be as widely released. This sales method did not turn out as planned, as the album was mostly released locally, and was not purchased by as many stores as Bruce had hoped. The group members took turns going out with unattractive women who worked at Kinkos in exchange for having their fliers promoting the album printed for free. The group promoted the album themselves by putting up the fliers across the city.

While promoting the album, Bruce and William Dail drove up to a young African American man and Bruce asked him if he liked rap music. The kid, who appeared scared, told him "no". Bruce, still determined, told him that if he knew someone who did, he could "give them this" and threw a cassette copy of Dog Beats on the ground. As Bruce and Dail began to drive away, their back windows were shot out and they looked behind them to find that the kid had pulled out a gun and shot out their windows.

Later, Bruce was putting fliers on the windows of cars in the parking lot of the heavy metal club Harpo's, and was hassled by a security guard, who told him that Bruce couldn't put up fliers unless it was for a performance at the club. Bruce apologized, but the security guard insisted that Bruce go back and take every flier off of every car. As he left with his fliers, the guard pulled him over and asked what he had. Bruce explained, "I'm in ICP, we're a rap group" and the security guard responded by punching him in the face so hard that Bruce's nose has been crooked ever since.

Insane Clown Posse were asked to perform at Ferris State University in promotion of the EP. A snowstorm delayed the group's performance, and because there were no microphones, the performance consisted of Bruce and Utsler "yelling over own cassette". After they finished their two-song set, Bruce stated that the audience "didn't cheer or boo. They just stood there, stunned." Bruce and Utsler later learned that the actual concert had taken place on the other side of the college three hours earlier, but decided that the mishap "wasn't even close to slowing down."

Abbiss actively sought out local airplay for Inner City Posse, but radio broadcasters were reluctant to play the single "Dog Beats" once they learned that the members were white. While trying to get stations to play the single, Bruce learned that one of the stations he and Abbiss visited would be interviewing local rapper Esham, who Bruce considered to be a "superstar"; Bruce had recently begun to collect Esham's albums, as he had done with other local rappers; by the time he had discovered Esham, the rapper had released two full length albums and three EPs. Bruce met Esham for the first time at the station and appraised him. Esham wished Bruce well and Bruce gave the rapper a copy of Dog Beats, beginning the two rappers' friendship and professional relationship.

In late 1991, the group invested more money into production than was covered by returns. The group decided that its gangsta rap style was the cause of the problem: Most emcees at the time used similar styles, making it difficult for Inner City Posse to distinguish itself stylistically. After the change in musical style, the group decided it needed a new name. Utsler suggested keeping the "I.C.P." initials to inform the community that Inner City Posse was not defunct, an idea to which the group agreed. Several names were considered before Bruce recalled his dream of a clown running around in Delray, which became the inspiration for the group's new name: Insane Clown Posse. The other members agreed, deciding that they would take on this new genre and name, and would all don face paint due to the success of their former clown-painted hype man. Upon returning home that night, Bruce says he had a dream in which "spirits in a traveling carnival appeared to him"—an image that would become the basis for the Dark Carnival mythology detailed in the group's Joker's Cards series, beginning with Carnival of Carnage.