Editing Riddle Box

{{Infobox album
| name         = Riddle Box
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Insane Clown Posse]]
| cover        = icp-the_riddlebox-cover-200.jpg
| alt          = a monstrous clown jack-in-the-box
| released     = {{Start date|1995|10|10}}<ref name="RIAA" />
| recorded     = 
| studio       = {{hlist|The Fun House|The Disc Ltd.|Pulsar Sound Studios|Cynder Block Studios}}
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Horrorcore]]<ref name="MacMurdo">{{Cite web |last=MacMurdo |first=Walker |date=October 29, 2015 |title=All 13 Insane Clown Posse Albums, Ranked |url=https://www.wweek.com/music/2015/10/29/all-13-insane-clown-posse-albums-ranked/ |access-date=November 5, 2023 |website=[[Willamette Week]] |language=en}}</ref>}}
| length       = 70:40
| label        = {{hlist|[[Psychopathic Records|Psychopathic]]|[[Battery Records (dance)|Battery]]}}
| producer     = {{hlist|[[Insane Clown Posse]]|[[Mike E. Clark]]}}
| prev_title   = [[Ringmaster (album)|Ringmaster]]
| prev_year    = 1994
| next_title   = [[The Great Milenko]]
| next_year    = 1997
| misc         = 
}}
'''''Riddle Box''''' is the third studio album by the American [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] duo [[Insane Clown Posse]], released in 1995 on [[Battery Records (dance)|Battery Records]] and [[Island Records]] in association with [[Psychopathic Records]]. It is the third [[Dark Carnival (Insane Clown Posse)#Joker's Cards|Joker's Card]] in the group's [[Dark Carnival (Insane Clown Posse)|Dark Carnival]] mythology. It was released a second time by Battery Records and Jive Records. In 2008 it was re-released on a Riddle Box vinyl record. The album was the first Insane Clown Posse album in which the group worked with studio vocalist and guitarist Rich Murrell, who would work with the group throughout much of their career under the name [[Legz Diamond]]. It was released in four different versions, and earned a [[Music recording sales certification|gold certification]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA). In 2008, ''Riddle Box'' was re-released on [[Gramophone record|vinyl]] [[Double album|double LP]] format. In 2015, Psychopathic Records reissued the album in a 20th anniversary edition, featuring bonus tracks.

==Conception==
===Background===
In 1995, Insane Clown Posse signed a contract with the short-lived [[Jive Records]] subsidiary label [[Battery Records (dance)|Battery Records]].<ref name="BehindthePaint231">{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |author-link=Violent J |author2=Hobey Echlin  |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |edition=second |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=0-9741846-0-8 |pages=231–269 |chapter=Ringmaster's Word|date=August 2003 }}</ref> Anticipating the album to be their first national release, the duo began work on ''Riddle Box''. Member [[Violent J|Joseph Bruce]] recalled thinking that working on the album would be "all the records we had done … rolled into one single effort."<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/>

===Recording===
Recording for ''Riddle Box'' occurred in producer [[Mike E. Clark]]’s personal studio.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> The group was looking to make the album more theatrical, so Clark introduced them to local guitarist and vocalist [[Legz Diamond|Rich Murrell]].<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> Originally a member of the group Coup Detroit, Murrell later left his band to join Insane Clown Posse’s studio band along with Clark.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> Murrell contributed to the album through guitar and various vocals in songs and skits.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/>

Jive Records' Senior Vice President of [[Artists and repertoire]], Jeff Fenster, had told Insane Clown Posse that ''Riddle Box'' couldn’t be over one hour long.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> When the group turned in the album at 70 minutes and 40 seconds long, Fenster was furious.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> Joseph Bruce told Fenster that the album featured several skits, and convinced him that the length was not an issue.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/>

===Joker's Cards===
''Riddle Box'' is the third [[Dark Carnival (Insane Clown Posse)#Joker's Cards|Joker's Card]] in Insane Clown Posse's [[Dark Carnival (Insane Clown Posse)|Dark Carnival]] [[concept album]] series.<ref name="McIver">{{cite book |last=McIver |first=Joel |title=Nu-metal: The Next Generation of Rock & Punk |year=2002 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0-7119-9209-6 |page=64 }}</ref> The Dark Carnival is a concept of the [[afterlife]] in which souls are sent to a form of [[limbo]] while waiting to be sent to [[heaven]] or [[hell]] based on their [[Divine judgment|individual actions]]. These concepts are related by Insane Clown Posse in a series of albums called the six [[Joker (playing card)|Joker's Card]]s. Each of the six Joker's Cards relate to a specific character — an entity of the Dark Carnival — that tries to "save the human soul" by showing the wicked inside of one's self.<ref name="BehindthePaint174">{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |author-link=Violent J |author2=Hobey Echlin  |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |year=2003 |edition=second |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=0-9741846-0-8 |pages=174–185 |chapter=The Dark Carnival }}</ref><ref name="Friedman">{{cite news |title=''Juggalos'' |first=David |last=Friedman |url=http://my.texterity.com/murderdogmagazine/volume16#pg192 |publisher=Murder Dog |date=November 2009 |pages=192–198 }}</ref>

''Riddle Box'' is one of several entities used to determine the fate of the dead.<ref name="RB">{{cite web | title=Who R ICP > Joker's Cards > ''Riddle Box'' | url=http://insaneclownposse.com/carnival/iframe.php?page_id=icp_riddlebox | publisher=[[Psychopathic Records]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324041319/http://www.insaneclownposse.com/page.php?page_id=icp_riddlebox | archive-date=2006-03-24 | access-date=2009-11-25 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Friedman"/><ref name="Apollo">{{cite web |url=http://www.paoracle.com/?archive=77 |title=An Intelligent Look at the Insane Clown Posse |author=Phoebus Apollo |date=2004-01-22 |publisher=phoebus apollo |access-date=2009-11-25}}</ref><ref name="TheGuardian">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/09/insane-clown-posse-christians-god |title=Insane Clown Posse: And God created controversy |author=Jon Ronson |date=2010-10-09 |access-date=15 October 2010 |location=London |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Upon death, a soul enters a dark chamber containing a [[jack-in-the-box]] on an old wooden table. The front of the box has a "painted question mark faded with time," representing the mystery of your own afterlife.<ref name="Friedman"/><ref name="RB"/> As the handle is turned, a melodic tune begins to play, and when the music stops, the choice is made. The pure see a vision of God, warming their souls as they enter eternal peace.<ref name="RB"/> The wicked see an immense fog seeping from the box, "stripping their sanity, as they witness an image of hell, spawned and formed from their own evil; a hideous reflection of their demented souls."<ref name="RB"/> The floor falls from underneath them, casting the doomed into the bottomless pit of Hell.<ref name="RB"/>

==Music==
"[[Chicken Huntin']]", which was remixed for ''Riddle Box'', was previously released on Insane Clown Posse's 1994 album ''[[Ringmaster (album)|Ringmaster]]''. "Dead Body Man" was previously released in 1994, on the group's second EP ''[[The Terror Wheel]]'', in a slightly lower key. Finally, "3 Rings" was previously released on Shaggy 2 Dope's 1994 EP ''[[Fuck Off!]]'', with the ''Riddle Box'' version featuring a slight change in lyrics.

===Samples===
"I'm Coming Home" contains a sample from "Confetti Day" by [[Hot Chocolate (band)|Hot Chocolate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/release/512689 |title=Release information for ''Riddle Box'' |access-date=2008-05-12 |publisher=Discogs}}</ref> "Cemetery Girl" contains a sample from the ''[[Carnival of Carnage]]'' song "Guts on the Ceiling". "Toy Box" samples [[Gong (band)|Gong]]'s "[[Flying Teapot (album)|The Pot Head Pixies]]" and the ''[[Pee-wee's Playhouse]]'' theme song.

===Lyricism===
The eponymous Riddle Box is a [[jack-in-the-box]] that decides whether one's soul is sent to [[The Wraith: Shangri-La|Shangri-La]] or [[The Wraith: Hell's Pit|Hell's Pit]] in the afterlife. The album's themes revolve around [[death]] and [[judgement]], and reveal that the fate determined by the Riddle Box can be found by looking deep within yourself, and can be changed with righteous actions.<ref name="RB"/><ref name="Apollo"/><ref name="TheGuardian"/> 
In "[[Chicken Huntin']]," the group raps about killing multiple racist rednecks, referred to as 'Chickens'.<ref name="Apollo"/> The song "3 Rings" speaks against social [[excommunication]].<ref name="Apollo"/> "Joker's Wild" is a gameshow in [[Hell]] where a [[Police corruption|police officer]], a judge, and a redneck are all sentenced to be tortured.<ref name="Apollo"/> The song "12" tells of a misplaced execution in which the person killed takes vengeance on 12 jurors who were involved in sentencing him to death.<ref name="Apollo"/> The second to last song on the album, "The Killing Fields," tells of a part of Hell where the wicked are perpetually tortured.<ref name="Apollo"/>

The album also makes several references to [[Culture of the United States|American popular culture]]. The title of the song "The Joker's Wild" is inspired by the [[The Joker's Wild|quiz show of the same name]]. "Ol' Evil Eye" is loosely based around [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s famous short story "[[The Tell-Tale Heart]]" and features excerpts from the story being read. Poe was given credit for the track's lyrics.

==Release and promotion==
''Riddle Box'' was released in four different versions. One version was the standard pressing, a second contained a bonus track of snippets from four [[Hed PE]] songs, a third featured reversed colors on the disc, and a fourth was a [[remaster]]ed version.<ref name="BehindthePaint548">{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |author-link=Violent J |author2=Hobey Echlin  |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |year=2003 |edition=2nd |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=0-9741846-0-8 |pages=548–552 |chapter=Complete Discography }}</ref> Battery/Jive Records showed little interest in promoting the album, and only released it limitedly nationwide.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> Insane Clown Posse then funded its own promotion of ''Riddle Box'' independently in [[Dallas, Texas]], where it persuaded several music retail stores to stock the album.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/> Sales averaged 1,500 copies per week as a result.<ref name="BehindthePaint231"/>

==Critical reception==
Jason Anderson from [[Allmusic]] stated that "Perhaps ICP's more dynamic delivery and second-rate Cypress Hill aesthetic elevates Riddle Box just above its predecessors, but all of the group's musical work is so far below any reasonable rap/rock standard that it hardly matters." and picked "Chicken Huntin' (Slaughter House Mix)", "The Joker's Wild" and "Ol' Evil Eye" the best tracks of the album.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-riddle-box-mw0000175606 |title=The Riddle Box- Insane Clown Posse |last=Anderson |first=Jason |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-riddle-box-mw0000175606 |title=The Riddle Box- Insane Clown Posse |last=Anderson |first=Jason |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|1.5|5}}<ref name="Cross">{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=Insane Clown Posse|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/405 405–6]}}</ref>
}}
A music video for "Chicken Huntin' (Slaughter House Mix)" was shot at the State Theatre (now called the Fillmore 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 ICP concert, and not just a video shoot. The video was shot with ICP performing the song only once.<ref name="BehindthePaint262">{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |author-link=Violent J|author2=Hobey Echlin  |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |year=2003 |edition=2nd |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=0-9741846-0-8 |pages=262–263 |chapter=Fuck Jive }}</ref> 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."<ref name="BehindthePaint262"/>

Songs called "Fat Sweaty Betty" and "Willy Bubba" were originally intended for this album. Insane Clown Posse even released a single of "Fat Sweaty Betty". They were cut from the album at the last minute, but remixed versions were later released on ''[[Forgotten Freshness]]'' and ''[[Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2|Forgotten Freshness 1 & 2]]''.<ref name="BehindthePaint548"/> In 2002, the track "Riddle Box" was featured in the film ''[[Solaris (2002 film)|Solaris]]''. According to Insane Clown Posse, the group has not received any financial compensation from the filmmakers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insaneclownposse.com/music/ |title=Riddle Box LP >> Insane Clown Posse >> Music |publisher=Psychopathic Records |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref> On December 16, 2008, ''Riddle Box'' was re-released on [[Gramophone record|vinyl]] [[Double album|double LP]] format.<ref name="LegacyRecordings">{{cite web |title=Vinyl spins & turntable dreams; 11 new titles added to LP catalog in October 2008, including four 180g audiophile pressings |url=http://www.legacyrecordings.com/News/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsGuid=15e82a45-26e0-4536-b153-6e3a2f9df049 |date=2008-09-16 |publisher=Sony BMG Music Entertainment |access-date=19 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="CDUniverse">{{cite web |title=Insane Clown Posse Riddle Box Vinyl LP Record |url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7754799 |publisher=CD Universe |access-date=19 September 2009}}</ref>

This album was responsible for expanding the [[Juggalo]] fanbase into its own culture, leading Insane Clown Posse to write the songs "What Is A Juggalo?" and "Down With The Clown" for their next album, ''[[The Great Milenko]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rabin |first=Nathan |url=https://www.avclub.com/violent-j-of-insane-clown-posse-1798227342 |title=Violent J of Insane Clown Posse · Set List |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=2017-07-20}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| all_writing = 
| title1 = Intro
| writer1 = 
| length1 = 1:23
| title2 = Riddle Box
| writer2 = {{hlist|[[Violent J|Joseph Bruce]]|[[Shaggy 2 Dope|Joseph Utsler]]|[[Mike E. Clark]]}}
| length2 = 2:51
| title3 = The Show Must Go On
| writer3 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length3 = 5:07
| title4 = [[Chicken Huntin']]
| note4 = Slaughter House Mix
| writer4 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Dave Greenberg|Howard Dodd|Marc Niles|Clark}}
| length4 = 3:42
| title5 = Interview
| note5 = Skit
| writer5 = 
| length5 = 0:47
| title6 = Toy Box
| writer6 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length6 = 5:24
| title7 = Cemetery Girl
| writer7 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length7 = 5:08
| title8 = 3 Rings
| writer8 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length8 = 4:50
| title9 = Headless Boogie
| writer9 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length9 = 4:22
| title10 = The Joker's Wild
| writer10 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length10 = 4:56
| title11 = Dead Body Man
| writer11 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length11 = 4:20
| title12 = Lil' Somthin' Somthin{{'-}}
| writer12 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length12 = 5:28
| title13 = Ol' Evil Eye
| writer13 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark|[[Edgar Allan Poe]]}}
| length13 = 4:53
| title14 = 12
| writer14 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark}}
| length14 = 6:35
| title15 = The Killing Fields
| writer15 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|[[Legz Diamond|Rich Murrell]]|Clark}}
| length15 = 4:55
| title16 = I'm Coming Home
| writer16 = {{hlist|Bruce|Utsler|Clark|[[Errol Brown]]}}
| length16 = 5:52
| total_length = 1:08:00
}}

;Sample credits
*Track 16 contains a sample from "Confetti Day" written by [[Errol Brown]] as recorded by [[Hot Chocolate (band)|Hot Chocolate]].

{{Track listing
| all_writing = 
| headline = 20th Anniversary Bonus Disc - Riddle Box Oddities
| title1 = The Riddle Box Show Intro
| length1 = 2:17
| title2 = I Didn't Mean to Kill ’Em
| length2 = 3:54
| title3 = Riddle Box Sampler Part Two
| length3 = 0:26
| title4 = Lil’ Somethin’ Somethin’ (Instrumental)
| length4 = 4:56
| title5 = Ink Town Posse
| length5 = 1:06
| title6 = Ol’ Evil Eye (Instrumental)
| length6 = 5:32
| title7 = Riddle Box Sampler Ending
| length7 = 0:20
| title8 = Mike E. Clark Calls Violent J
| length8 = 1:18
| title9 = 3 Rings (Early Mix)
| length9 = 4:39
| title10 = Toy Box (Show Version)
| length10 = 4:27
| title11 = Joker's Gallery EP Intro
| length11 = 3:50
| title12 = Willy Bubba (Alternate Version)
| length12 = 3:36
| title13 = Hotline Message
| length13 = 0:57
| title14 = The Killing Fields (Instrumental)
| length14 = 4:30
| title15 = Fabulous
| length15 = 2:00
| title16 = Fat Sweaty Betty (Celluloid Bubble Remix)
| length16 = 4:52
| title17 = Riddle Box Sampler Part 4 & 12 (Instrumental)
| length17 = 7:50
| total_length = 
}}

==Personnel==
* [[Violent J]] – vocals
* [[Shaggy 2 Dope]] – vocals, turntables
* [[Mike E. Clark]] – turntables, production
* Rich "[[Legz Diamond]]" Murrell – skit vocals, guitar

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1995)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|BillboardHeatseekers|16|artist=Insane Clown Posse|rowheader=true|access-date=November 5, 2023}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Gold|certyear=1999|title=Riddle Box|artist=Insane Clown Posse|type=album|relyear=1995|access-date=November 5, 2023|refname="RIAA"}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Discogs master|263752|Insane Clown Posse – Riddle Box}}

{{Insane Clown Posse}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1995 albums]]
[[Category:Horrorcore albums]]
[[Category:Insane Clown Posse albums]]
[[Category:Psychopathic Records albums]]
[[Category:Battery Records (dance) albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Violent J]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Mike E. Clark]]