Insane Clown Posse's Violent J reveals heart condition to fans, announces farewell tour

Violent J, one half of the musical circus better known as the Insane Clown Posse, says the band’s touring days are coming to an end. Speaking to a crowd of fans at this year’s Gathering Of The Juggalos, Violent J revealed that the group’s next tour would be their last due to his ongoing heart issues. However, this would no stop them from making music or performing one-off shows each month. So rest assured, you have not heard the last of the Insane Clown Posse.

“Nobody escapes the trials and tribulations of being a human,” Violent J said. “This don’t mean anything like I’m going to die or anything like that. It just means that we can’t do things the way we used to do. So I just really don’t want to announce this, but we really can’t tour the way we were touring. We’re going to do one more tour next year, around the world. We’re going to go to all the major markets in the United States and beat markets. And then we’re going to go to Europe and Canada and Australia, but it’s going to be a slow tour. It’s only going to be like three or four shows a week, and that’s going to be a farewell tour.”

“I want to make it clear, making music is not affected in any way, shape or form by anything going on with Shaggy or myself health-wise,” said Violent J.

The 49-year-old rapper revealed the severity of his heart condition to the crowd, saying that he had “heart failure.” After feeling “winded” from the 40-yard walk between his house and the studio, Violent J said that he went to the hospital. “They did an ultrasound. The lady who was looking at my heart, we could tell she was tripping about something, but she wasn’t a doctor. The doctors were all tied up upstairs in the hospital, understandably. She told me, ‘They want you to go straight home, get in bed and they’ll call you first thing in the morning.’” At his follow-up, he continued, “They took me in the back and shit, and basically they just came out and told me I have heart failure. That scared the shit out of me.”

The news was understandably heartbreaking both for the members of the Posse and their loyal fans, the Juggalos. Nevertheless, Violent J continued to layout all the ways the group would stay in touch with their community—and, man, have they been successful community builders. Instead, the group will focus on new Patreon exclusives, new music, and the aforementioned one-off shows. This also doesn’t seem like the end of The Gathering Of The Juggalos, ICP’s yearly extravaganza.

According to Violent J, he and Shaggy 2 Dope have gone on two tours a year for the last 25. That’s a lot of Faygo. But to Violent J, we send a hearty “whoop whoop” and hope for the best regarding his health issues.

[via Rolling Stone]