Wizard of the Hood (song)

"Wizard of the Hood" is a song by the American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. It is the sixth song on their debut album Carnival of Carnage (1992).

History

"Wizard of the Hood" was originally written by Joe Bruce sometime in the late '80s. Its first appearance was on the Intelligence and Violence EP, by Violent J and D-Lyrical, under the name "Wizard of Delray." The song was recorded on a karaoke machine, like the rest of the EP, thus making it Lo-Fi and slightly distorted. It is track number three on the EP, and is the first time that Faygo was mentioned in a song by Inner City Posse^[1]

In 1991, Inner City Posse saved enough money to use a professional record studio. Along with producer Chuck Miller, Inner City Posse re-recorded "Wizard of Delray" with slightly different lyrics and a whole new beat. The song was released on the EP Dog Beats under the new title "Wizard of the Hood." The end of the track features approximately 35 seconds of Yo Mamma jokes.^[1]

In late 1991, the Inner City Posse over went a change in genre, style, and look, as well as a name change to become the Insane Clown Posse. On October 18, 1992, Insane Clown Posse's debut album Carnival of Carnage was released. Track number six, "Wizard of the Hood," was the same as the 1991 Dog Beats version except instead of Yo Mamma jokes, the end of the '92 release featured a skit of Shaggy 2 Dope reading poetry before freaking out on a bug.^[1][2]

In 2003, Violent J released his first solo EP. Its concept and name, Wizard of the Hood, derived from the "Wizard of Delray/Wizard of the Hood" songs.^[2]

Lyrics and story

All three songs and the solo album tell the same basic story as The Wizard of Oz, only more urban, up-to-date, and personalized. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Wizard sometimes take the names of real life friends of Violent J.

Intelligence and Violence

In this song, Violent J gets drunk at a party at his friends house and passes out. He begins to dream. In his dream, he is drinking Faygo in his dorm room, when he sees a tornado. His house spins out of control, and lands on the Yellow brick road. When he gets out of the house, Violent J sees a 3 foot pimp who welcomes him to the new land and tells J that in order to leave, he must head down the Yellow Brick Road. The pimp also informs J that he has a murder rap because his house landed on a witch. Violent J then steals the pimp's gat and the witch's pumps. Down the road, J sees a scarecrow. The Scarecrow introduces himself as Nate "The Mack". Scarecrow Mack and Violent J continue down the road until the find the Tin Man, who is said to look like a crack head. Scarecrow Mack and Violent J take the Tin Man with them, and J plans to team with them to make plenty of cash back in Detroit. While walking through the jungle, they sing "Hoods and Hoodlums and Thieves, oh my!" (a parody of "Lions and Tigers and Bears"). Suddenly, a lion attacks Scarecrow Mack and tries to rob the trio. The lion introduces himself as Lay Low Lion. J tells the lion not to rob them, but instead rob with them in Detroit. They arrive at the castle, and shoot all of the guards. They enter the castle and find the Wizard. Violent J tells him to send him home, but the Wizard only laughs. After killing the Wizard, J finds keys to the Wizard's truck. As he begins to drive home, he wakes up from the dream. He is about to tell his friends the dream he just had, but decides not to because they would only laugh at him because he is drunk.

Dog Beats/Carnival of Carnage

This song is similar to the Intelligence and Violence story. Minor changes have been made. The pimp has a group of munchkins with him. They are more assertive toward Violent J, and tell him that he is doomed for killing the witch. J also has his own gun, instead of having to steal it from the pimp, and he does not take the witch's shoes. The Scarecrow takes no name other than "Scarecrow", but is voiced by Shaggy 2 Dope. When Violent J and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Man, he asks to be oiled up with a Red Bull 40 oz of malt liquor, unlike the first song where he just freely walks. The Tin Man is voiced by John Kickjazz. After oiling up the Tin Man, J remarks that they will see the wizard, and calls him "the Wizard of the ghetto." When walking through the jungle, J and the (then unseen) Lion have a shoot out before he emerges and attempts to rob the group. Like the Tin Man, the Lion is also voiced by John Kickjazz. When the group reach the castle, instead of killing all of the guards, they simply just let move out of the way in fear. When approached by the group, the wizard insults each of them before being shot. Violent J then steals the wizard's Geo. The song ends the same, as J drive away, he wakes up, then decides not to tell anybody.

Wizard of the Hood EP

Violent J makes his way through the strange new land to get back to his home. On his way he meets the Scarecrow (voiced by Paul Methric), who only needs somebody to smoke with, the Tin Man (voiced by Jamie Spaniolo), who wants a gat, and the Lion (voiced by Chris Rouleau), who wants some hos. Anybody Killa also makes a brief cameo as a guard in the Wizard's Palace, while Shaggy 2 Dope is the voice of the Wizard. In a similar conclusion to the actual story, the Scarecrow and Tin Man are made to realize that they had what they wanted all along. The Lion's desire for ladies, however, is satisfied by the Wizard's "Magic Blunt".

References