"Chris Benoit" is a song written by

Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...

and

Mike E. Clark Michael Earl Clark (born December 25, 1962) is an American record producer and DJ from Michigan, best known for working with Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Prozak and Mickey Avalon. Clark has also worked with George Clinton, Patti Smith, R.L. B ...

for the duo's 2012 album ''

The Mighty Death Pop! ''The Mighty Death Pop!'' is the twelfth studio album by Underground American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on August 14, 2012. It is their second album to focus on the Dark Carnival since the conclusion of the group's original " Jok ...

'' A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was filmed in June 2012, directed by the Deka Brothers. The album's concept "teaches us to respect the life we’ve been given and do our best to avoid an early death." The song was named after the

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, who died in a murder-suicide after killing his wife and son.
/ref> A remix of the song appeared on the

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

'' Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium'', and featured rappers

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

and Scarface. This song was released 5 years after his death.

Music and lyrics

Inspiration for the song came from wrestler

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

, who

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

his wife and son before committing suicide.

broadly alluded to the murders in the song's lyrics, but the focus of the song is not the murders themselves, but of suddenly losing one's sanity, and eclipsing in violence. The song pertains to the album's overall concept, which "teaches us to respect the life we've been given and do our best to avoid an early death." The song was remixed by Kuma for the remix album '' Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium''. The remix featured additional verses by

and Scarface.

Music video

The music video for "Chris Benoit" was filmed in June 2012, five years after the Chris Benoit murders took place. It was the first music video from ''The Mighty Death Pop!''
Violent J allowed French directors the Deka Brothers to exercise creative control over the video, with ICP's only input being a request for "minimal wrestling scenes" and "plenty of slow-motion, blur and artsy abstraction". Also in the video there were a few stock picture flashes of Chris Benoit himself. Violent J wanted the video to look like those made by

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and was impressed with the Deka Brothers' work on

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...

First of the Year (Equinox) "First of the Year (Equinox)" is a song by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released on June 7, 2011, as the lead single from his third EP, ''More Monsters and Sprites''. The song has since become a moderate commercial succe ...

. The music video aired on July 26–27, 2012 during a live episode of Violent J's "The Witching Hours" on Psychopathic Radio. The music video was later released on the Psychopathic Records YouTube channel.

Reception

The ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' criticized the song, suggesting that it glorified the wrestler's murders. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' said that the song uses the wrestler's psyche "to stare into the void". Graveside Entertainment cited "Chris Benoit" as a standout of the ''Mighty Death Pop!'', calling it one of Insane Clown Posse's darkest songs, writing "ICP wisely took a more subtle approach focusing on the mind state someone like Benoit may have had during and after the act and it works extremely well."

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 2012 singles Insane Clown Posse songs Horrorcore songs Songs about crime Songs about death Songs about mental health Songs about suicide Songs about violence Songs based on actual events Cultural depictions of American men 2012 songs Cultural depictions of professional wrestlers