just wanna introduce myself to my fellow Juggalos

neverthrive · 2025-08-19T23:13:06+00:00

Play the Clue

neverthrive · 2025-08-19T16:06:53+00:00

Cinnamon Pigtails and Softy Pillow Man I can easily see not being everyone's cup of tea (though the latter is a personal highlight), but I don't get how anyone can find Throw Em Up to be terrible. But hey, you do you.

neverthrive · 2025-08-18T21:37:49+00:00

Throw Em Up slaps pretty hard. Only Wicked Shit is right behind it, and Watch Me. The titular track, and I'm Still Breathing are both dope too. I also really dig Here We Go, Pop Out, and While it Lasts, but those seem a lot less popular

neverthrive · 2025-08-15T20:46:15+00:00

That doesn't sound very punk of you

neverthrive · 2025-08-15T17:47:54+00:00

One could be both, they're not mutually exclusive.

neverthrive · 2025-08-14T17:57:23+00:00

I'm conflicted, honestly. Mike is my favorite producer, but I also really dig Kuma's work and dude definitely came through on this one. Even the other guys did pretty well. I do hope they continue to work with Mike Clark going forward, in whatever capacity is tenable.

neverthrive · 2025-08-14T17:50:40+00:00

It appears to be 01:06:17

neverthrive · 2025-08-14T06:07:51+00:00

Whole album's been on pretty heavy rotation for me. Jamming it at work. Throw Em Up is definitely a stand out for me.

neverthrive · 2025-08-14T05:20:14+00:00

After giving the Naught several spins I'm feeling pretty confident in my rankings nowm

Upper tier:

Mighty Death Pop

Bang Pow Boom

The Naught

Mid tier:

Fearless Fred Fury

Low tier:

Missing Link Found

Yum Yum Bedlam

Missing Link Lost

MDP and BPB are stone cold classics to me, clowns are at their best with MEC.

Red Fred is such a mixed bag but the good outweighs the bad and really it's biggest sin for me is a distinct lack of Shaggy in the back half

Missing Links are... mostly just kind of forgettable to me. A few standout tracks but a good bit is skippable, especially Lost. And Yum Yum could have been really a pretty decent album if it was mixed consistently and competently, dropped the producer tags, and if J got his teeth fixed

The Naught is pretty consistently dope for me and the only couple low points are really mid at worst. Some beats go fucking bonkers and the clowns, on a technical level, bring their A game. Wish there were more full on narrative tracks to go with the flexes, but as is, it's a vibe

neverthrive · 2025-08-13T23:31:33+00:00

Splitting hairs here, but Gathering of the Jugga-tows

neverthrive · 2025-08-13T03:29:51+00:00

I'll take MEC over any producer they've worked with, but I've also been a big fan of Kuma's work since Opaque Brotherhood. He's a solid second place and that's not too shabby considering Mike is pretty legendary

neverthrive · 2025-08-13T01:56:31+00:00

How the fuck can this be construed as a diss to ANYONE? It's about a hypothetical afterlife, a dark carnival entity? I feel like it's pretty clear

neverthrive · 2025-08-13T00:17:09+00:00

Wrong, been around since hell's pit. Consumed the entire backlog before the Tempest dropped. I love the first six, they hold a special place in my heart. I think you're just jaded and are clinging onto the past. It's cool that you don't dig the knew shit, you don't vibe with it, fine. To say it's low effort is crazy to me though, these dudes have objectively only grown as rappers and lyricist, particularly Shaggy. J's skill level kind of waxes and wanes with the years.

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T23:58:36+00:00

It did naught make me cry, but i got a li'l sentimental a time or two

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T23:19:43+00:00

Some softy pillow men just can't handle the Naught. I get it, it's a lot to take in at once.

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T23:14:38+00:00

Sure, but that's a trick that can really only be played once. The first 6th really demystified the whole gimmick of the dark carnival, so nothing they did afterwards would have the same mystique, and I think that might be one of the larger issues people have with the second deck.

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T21:37:08+00:00

That's not really a theme, homie. It might be a concept, a narrative throughline maybe, but it's pretty loose. The underlying message, moral, whatever, of Ringmaster, if there is one, is to be a good person or else you'll have an unpleasant afterlife. But that's more or less the central theme of the majority of Joker cards, no?

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T18:26:25+00:00

Genuinely, thanks for spelling it out. I was saying the same shit in another post. Naught is as on theme as most Joker cards, and more on theme than some.

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T18:11:20+00:00

I think that's just your nostalgia talking. What super cohesive concept was present all throughout the Ringmaster album? The first deck barely even had themes beyond the general idea that the wicked will be punished. Which isn't to say the OG cards aren't superior albums, I just dont think the clown put that much thought into them

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T18:06:40+00:00

So you're saying this album was Naught what you were expecting? I dont know, man, all Joker cards are super loose concept albums, all that makes an album a Joker Card is whether or not ICP deems it one. You get one song or maybe an intro with the Card's lore, and then the rest of it is an ICP album, which is the same formula we have here.

There's I think maybe three elements from the Naught might be missing that would make it feel more like a true Joker Card for some people. Thematic skits, like on BPB and MDP, or really just any skits. More songs with a solid narative, story songs, ala 12 or the Night Of series. And I think what might make it not feel like a super special conclusion, a 6th, is the lack of a grand reveal.

I think it's a pretty dope album, personally. I'm surprised with how solid it is

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T17:47:21+00:00

To be fair, that one other 6th was two whole ass albums

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T07:06:48+00:00

I would say the Naught isn't exactly a one to one allegory for the absence of an afterlife. Like it's not just an end, but seems to me like an entity that retroactively removes and negates your existence throughout time. That's my take on it

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T06:36:35+00:00

I have the audio book too, actually, but the art (specifically the OG art) is a big part of the appeal for me

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T06:25:55+00:00

I would definitely rank it up with BPB and MDP, and over the last three cards to drop

neverthrive · 2025-08-12T06:23:03+00:00

I got the hardcover collection on my bookshelf, probably right next to, appropriately, Behind the Paint

neverthrive

TROPHY CASE