Q: Why do Juggalos say, "Whoop whoop"?
A: It's funny you ask that. About two-and-a-half months ago, I was, unfortunately, pulled over by a state trooper coming down I-75. When he got to the window, he immediately told me that I'd done nothing wrong, he just had to pull me over to ask, finally, what "whoop whoop" means.
I understood why he asked me, because my daily driver is a black Malibu with the chrome letters spelling "Malibu" replaced with chrome "Whoop Whoop." My license plate says "2WHOOPS" — and I have over 300 "hatchet man" decals all over my car with flags on each side that have hatchet men on them. My car is basically like a riding billboard for the label. I guess he figured that, if anybody knew, it would be me.
I explained to him that it means nothing — but at the same time it can mean everything.
It's like when I was in the Marines; we had "ooh rah." We would say "ooh rah" when something turned out good or we had a good mission. "Whoop whoop" is the same way. It's an easy thing to say, it's fun to say, and it can mean everything or nothing. And it sounds just the same, whether you're drunk or sober. And even sometimes when you're sad, you can say, like, "Whoop whoop, man."
Most people use it as a form of farewell. You're like, "Whoop whoop, ninja." Like, "Catch you later." Or like a greeting. At the Gathering of the Juggalos, even old-school Juggalos at the end of the day almost dread that, because you can't go 10 feet without saying "whoop whoop" 20 times because there's so many people at the Gathering that every few steps you're seeing a new person, so you gotta give them a "whoop whoop." And, oh, you can't leave this brother out, so you gotta say "whoop whoop" to him. And then, this sister, you gotta say "whoop whoop" to her too. And you're whooped out by the end of the day.
Will Sigler is a 36-year-old Juggalo, former Marine, and longtime ICP fan who works at Psychopathic Records. Send your questions to [email protected].
