Violent J’s 2nd Full-Length Solo Album “Bloody Sunday” is His Darkest Yet (Album Review)
Violent J is a 50 year old MC, producer, professional wrestler & Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) Commissioner from Detroit, Michigan notable for forming the Insane Clown Posse & co-founding the label that runs beneath the streets Psychopathic Records with Shaggy 2 Dope. He’s also released a few EPs & a full-length on his own within the last 3 decades, with my personal favorite of the handful being Wizard of the Hood. The last we heard from the Duke of the Wicked solo-wise was the Brother! EP on New Year’s Eve 2018, but J is making up for the 3-month delay of his sophomore solo album by giving it to the fans as a Juggalo Day treat.
The intro is an occult trap opener produced by Devereaux with J confessing he doesn’t want to be alive anymore whereas the title track gives me a more slower albeit still morbid approach to the beat thanks to Brian Kuma talking about a never ending cycle. “Clown Blood” returns to trap territory with J showing off some crazy flows as he describes the clown blood flowing through him leading into “In the Hole” blending some hi-hats & synths talking about where your soul will suffer.
Meanwhile on “Pitch Dark”, we have the Duke of the Wicked over a more rugged instrumental describing total blackness just before “No Friends” is a decent guitar ballad about being friendless. “Scatterbrain 2” is a trap-flavored sequel to “Scatterbrain” which has always been one of the best songs off Eye of the Storm in my opinion & picks up where the predecessor left off wonderfully, but then Mike E. Clark returns to lace “The Stiff” with his uniquely quirky sound asking if he made a friend until the end or fucked up again.
“Horrendous Ways” jacks for beats as Dr. Punch asks why great lives end in the titular fashion while “Something’s in My Room” takes a turn into boom bap describing the titular being in his room staring at him. The song “The Hurter” has a more carnivalesque flare to the instrumental courtesy of Shaggytheairhead describing the titular character while the penultimate track “A Harrowing Time” is a bassy trap cut about Satan calling him. “Some Good Pussy” though ends the album with a shitty country rock ballad about a man being unhealthily obsessed with a bitch.
Wizard of the Hood is such a classic EP & I know The Shining gets a bit of mixed reception with a lot of juggalos that I know personally, but it’s most certainly no question that Bloody Sunday stands as Violent J’s finest solo album to date. It’s a lot more darker than the previous efforts that he’s put out on his own, he sounds focused & the production is a healthy mix of both the old & new sounds throughout the 3 decades that he’s been in the game.
Score: 7/10
