On Sunday, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion will play host to one of the world’s most famous (or at least infamous) groups: The Insane Clown Posse.

Over the course of nearly 20 years, ICP has been putting out some of the most profane, violent and outright bizarre music in the industry. Naturally, their product has been either loved or hated depending on the listener, with rarely an in-between. Accordingly, the group has accumulated one of the most loyal fan bases in music, along with twice as many who loathe them.

ICP member Joseph “Shaggy 2 Dope” Utsler spoke with The Lantern this week and said that if anything, the spurn heaped upon the group spurs them on.

“Our whole career we been hated on. But look at record sales. We must be doing something right,” he said. “We thrive on hate. If you took a star like Drake and put him in these conditions, he’d crumble.”

Utsler also pointed out that although the group’s content has made it notorious among Parent Teacher Association and church groups, with a little digging, a listener could find some wholesome attitudes.

“We’re against all that’s f—– up in the world: racism, rape, child abuse,” he said as he listed issues the group has spoken out against in its music. “We don’t try to put it in your face, but if you wanna find it, it’s there.”

Utsler said that when the group began, it didn’t have the goal to be ultra-profane. The band members were just products of their environment. He said that when he and Joseph “Violent J” Bruce heard some of the new “hardcore” rap coming from the West, the doors just opened.

“We weren’t from the best part of town,” Utsler said. “When we first heard N.W.A. and Geto Boys on the radio, we were like ‘You can say this s— on the radio?'”

The group they founded, which originally had four members, still needed one more distinctive touch. Inspired by fellow Detroit rapper Esham, who was renowned for his elaborate stage appearances, the group began wearing clown makeup to fit its stage name. The rest was history.

The group became known for its wild stage shows and the extensive sets it performs on. In a previous interview, Bruce said the group goes through 300 to 400 two-liters of Faygo, its signature drink produced in Detroit, at every show. The group tosses and sprays the beverages into the crowd. Utsler says to expect more of the same on Sunday.

“Expect to get wet. Expect a lot of action on the stage,” he said. “It’s just a big f—— party and we’re the background music.”

The “parties” are widely attended. Fans of ICP refer to themselves as “juggalos,” a nickname derived from the group’s song “The Juggla.” The juggalo population has grown and organized, including running an annual “Gathering of the Juggalos” event.

The group has used its musical success to further expand the ICP name beyond just the musical act. ICP helped to found Psychopathic Records, the label in which it resides. The group has produced and starred in movies and has even founded and wrestled in its own league, Juggalo Championship Wrestling. As to where the band members will tread next, Utsler wasn’t sure, but he wouldn’t rule anything out.

“Whatever we’re into at the time, we’ll make it happen,” he said. “We got a ‘no ideas are stupid’ policy. Maybe it’ll be river-dancing, I don’t know.”

Regardless of what comes next, the musical aspect of the group’s menagerie still brings them the most attention. Although Sunday’s lineup will feature alt-favorites the

Kottonmouth Kings and Coolio (yes, the one who sang “Gangsta’s Paradise”), there is little doubt that ICP has continued to remain relevant after all these years.

Most recently, the duo has been placed in the spotlight thanks to the YouTube sensation its most recent music video has become. The video, based on ICP’s single “Miracles,” features the group rapping about the things it finds to be amazing. The use of the word “miracle” has caused most of the strife the duo have received.

“I know that magnets aren’t magic,” Utsler said in reference to the song’s most beleaguered line: “F—— magnets, how do they work?” as he shrugged off online comments and a Saturday Night Live parody. “The song is about appreciating the little things in life, not that we think science is bulls—.”

Regardless of constant antagonism, ICP continues to go strong. Just one more question for Utsler: what is his favorite flavor of Faygo?

“Cherry Cola. They stopped making it though,” he said. “Kinda broke my heart.”