KEY POINTS:
He wears a rainbow-coloured wig while rapping and rhyming with the meanest dance moves but this clown's message is something far more serious than the jokes he cracks.
Thomas "Tommy the Clown" Johnson is the American creator of a worldwide dance phenomenon known as "Krumping" which he describes as a "freestyle, very energetic, aggressive [dance] and an outlet for the inner-city kids to channel their energy".
Krumping forms a big part of his show - a combination of magic, dance, song and laughs - that is making its way through Auckland schools.
The performances educate the masses about gangs, drugs and the importance of doing well at school.
After serving five years in prison for dealing crack cocaine and seeing the worst of gang life in Detroit and Los Angeles, Tommy felt his experiences could help youth at risk and turn their lives around.
"I've been inside my house when the bullets went rat-tat-tat into it, I've seen my boys [friends] getting shot right in front of my face and die right in my arms," he said.
"Kids just need to know there are only two things that can come from being a gang-banger and that's being in jail or dead."
Mr Johnson said he got the inspiration for his show after a work colleague asked him to perform as a clown at her child's birthday party in 1993.
His shows, which involved getting children up to dance, quickly became popular and Tommy realised he could give youth an opportunity to get into dancing by creating a dance crew called the Hip Hop Clowns.
The entry rules were simple: no gangs, no drugs, do well in school and be a role model.
Since its inception thousands of teenagers throughout America and around the world have competed in Mr Johnson's Battlezone, a place where dancing crews pit their skills against other teams for the right to become a hip-hop clown in a yearly competition.
His message promotes the opposite of gangsta-rap music where the glorification of bling, bang and babes means millions in sales.
"They have to see that their music is killing our children. People listen to their lyrics and we get nothing but senseless deaths.
"This show is about the positivity of hip-hop music and we don't like cussing or disrespecting girls."
Chief executive of the Waipareira Trust, John Tamihere, paid for Tommy and his crew's three-week tour of local schools after seeing him in action in Auckland this year.
Tommy the Clown will be making appearances in Whangarei schools tomorrow and Friday. He will travel to Hamilton, Paeroa and Tauranga next week.
