What up, ninjas? OK, so there is a lot of speculation and rumors flying around and I wanted to reflect on some of it in this letter so that the family can be better informed with all the behind the scenes flavor that’s taking place here at Psychopathic Records. We don’t like to pull the curtains back on our mighty Oz, because behind the scenes, we are human just like everybody else. Revealing our inner workings can make the show less fun, but we do understand that sometimes an explanation is just what’s necessary.
The first thing I wanted to address is Twiztid leaving the label. I was shocked when I first heard that Twiztid was leaving. For many years they have been such an integral part of the Hatchet that it was hard to conceive them gone. I was particularly sad because when I got the word, I was working with Jamie, Paul and our video department to put out the new video for their Abominationz album. I was so excited to be working on such an awesome project, and believe me, it was shaping up to be off-the-chain. Then the plug was immediately pulled on everything when the news dropped. It was a sad day over here as I am sure it was for many ninjas.
I am sure they decided to leave for many different reasons and I am sure they did not make the decision lightly. I have only had a few brief conversations with Paul since they left and the full details of their departure still remain a mystery to all of us. However, I know that with any partnership things are never perfect, and we at Psychopathic have made our fair share of mistakes, and I’m sure that’s part of the reason. One of the more recent problems that Twiztid experienced on the label was much like what happened with The Mighty Death Pop release, we failed to order enough product to handle the prerelease of the Twiztid’s Abominationz album. It resulted in a lot of ninjas not receiving the album on its release date. We in turn removed the person responsible because they obviously weren’t qualified to adequately accomplish their job and have since hired a more capable ninja, but this I am sure was one of the straws that broke the camel’s back because shortly after this, Twiztid announced they were gone.
The other thing that ninjas need to realize, however, is that at some point it was possible that Twiztid would simply outgrow Psychopathic and want to start doing things on their own. If you think about it, this is not even the first time they left the label. Does anyone remember the short-lived Majik Records ran by the infamous Tom Dub? In their eyes this could be the next step for them and unlike before, this time they have a lot more experience, knowledge and a way better management team to make sure that it works. So I am sure that the reason they left is a combination of many different factors and they felt it was time to simply make that move.
That being said, I wanted everyone to know that there was never any anger over here at Twiztid for them leaving. Disappointment yes, but we understood them wanting to try to do things on their own. As my brother has said, everything changes with time and this is no different. We will always consider Twiztid to be our brothers and family until the end of days. We have been through too much blood, sweat and tears for that ever to change. We will continue to support them as we always have done.
So in the end, even though some things have changed the important aspects of the family I feel will never change. Things are indeed looking bright for the future and Billy has been talking with Twiztid more and more each day. It was recently confirmed that they will be at the Gathering this year doing their regularly scheduled autograph sessions and seminars, as well as performing as part of Dark Lotus and Psychopathic Rydas … which I am sure is good news for everyone to hear. It is my honest hope that when all the dust settles, the unity and bond that has kept everything going for all these years will remain solid as ever.
As for Blaze, I wanted to say that first and foremost that Chris remains one of the coolest motherfuckers I have ever known. He has gone through so much in his life and yet remains only stronger for it. I have always felt a bond with him that may even stem into a past life. I don’t know how to explain this but I have always felt like I owe him (if that makes any sense). When Twiztid left the label, Chris was going through a really hard time because of a personal matter and suddenly all communication with him for the most part came to a halt. Before I explain things further, you have to understand that Twiztid and Blaze are super close homies and have been since way back in the day before they even joined Psychopathic. They have always helped each other on everything they do, as they are thick as thieves. Twiztid usually brings Blaze out on most of their tours, and they almost always share studio time. You can hear evidence of this because you can hear Twiztid and Blaze’s voices all over each others albums. So when Twiztid announced they were leaving Psychopathic, I think all of us here instantly felt that Blaze would almost assuredly join them (as he did before when they all left and started Majik Records).
We started to test these waters by trying to talk to Blaze to see what he was thinking, but he wasn’t returning many of our calls. Then when we asked him to be a part of the “Jump Around” music video he couldn’t make it, which was way out of his character, so to us it was a clear indication that he was leaving the label. When he finally told us he was coming up to the office to talk about everything within a weeks time, but then didn’t, that was another bad sign to us. So as the weeks turned into months we had to assume that he had left the label along with Twiztid.
We all assumed Blaze was gone and we figured Joe’s shoot interview provided the perfect platform for informing the Juggalos of this turn of events. But it appears that the real reason that Blaze wasn’t maintaining direct communication with us was because of his personal hardships. He is dealing with some extremely heavy issues at home. Perhaps a bit of it also was him taking a step back as he saw how everything was unfolding and was trying to figure out his next move. Either way, it was unfair for us to assume that Blaze left the label without personally confirming it with him and on behalf of everyone at Psychopathic, I want to personally apologize to Chris and the Juggalos for this misunderstanding.
When my brother Joe (Violent J) said in his shoot interview that he spoke with Twiztid and Blaze and they confirmed that it was OK to announce that Dark Lotus and Rydas were still on the Psychopathic Records roster, you have to understand that in the past, ever since the early days, talking to one of them was the same as talking to all three. Their decisions were made by the three of them together. There was never a case where Jamie was down to do something, but Paul and Chris wasn’t. Thats just not how they operate. When Paul said yes to Joe, we all naturally assumed that was from all three of them.
As I have said before, we are far from perfect, have made many mistakes, and will probably make a few more before this is done. Chris is always welcome to continue rocking the underground scene with us if that’s what he decides he wants to do because we have nothing but love for him. If, however, he did decide to leave he would of course have our full support. He is our friend and brother always and I personally have nothing but super mad respect for him.
As for the Legz Diamond and The Purple Gang album…I know there are a few haters out there gearing up to destroy this thing before it even has a chance, but I wanted to make it clear that in no way are we attempting to fill the void left by Twiztid and possibly Blaze with this release. This album, after all, has been in the works since last September. For those of you who don’t know, Legz Diamond has been a behind the scenes music ninja over here at Psychopathic for the last 20 years and has done work on almost every ICP album to date. The 9 Pistolas album is our way to pay homage for all the love he has given us during the entire history of the label, and in my opinion, is a dope ass album.
It’s true, however, that it’s different than most the music we put out at Psychopathic and much like everything else on the planet, it’s not meant for everyone. But it has a cool vibe to it that you can sit back and chill to. His album is pure flavor through and through and is simply meant for the ninjas that will enjoy it. As a side note, I love the fact that this album is finally droppin’ because both the Jumpsteady and the Legz Diamond album were promoted in the original Tunnel of Love EP back in 1996 and it’s mad karma to see that they both finally did come out.
As for the future of Psychopathic and ICP…we have been through many ups and downs throughout the entire time we have graced this planet, but we will continue to always march on with our Juggalo pride. We have been hated by the mainstream music industry for as far back as I care to remember, banned by religious organizations numbering in the millions, destroyed and mocked continually in the national media, hunted by the FBI and law enforcement agencies due to Juggalos unjustly being labeled as a gang, and yet still we remain strong. Our focus now is to simply keep moving ahead and doing what we have always done … and that is to provide crazy fresh entertainment for our Juggalo family. Thank you for taking the time to read this and mad love to all the Juggalos. Y’all are the shit for real…Much love for that! -
FAYGOLUVERS
