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D12

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This article is about an American hip-hop group. For other uses, see d12 (disambiguation).
D12

D12 (also known as The Dirty Dozen and D-Twizzy) is an American hip-hop group from Detroit, Michigan, which has had albums reach the top of the American, British, and Australian album charts: Devil's Night in 2001 and D12 World in 2004. D12 was formed in 1990, but only achieved mainstream success when its most accomplished member, Eminem, had risen to international fame and notoriety. Previously, D12 had been a powerful force in the underground rap scene.

Members

Current members

D12 has five members

  • Eminem (Marshall Mathers) a.k.a. Slim Shady
  • Swift (Ondre Moore) a.k.a. Swifty McVay
  • Kon Artis (Denaun Porter) a.k.a. Mr. Porter
  • Kuniva (Von Carlisle) a.k.a. Rondell Beene
  • Bizarre (Rufus Johnson) a.k.a. Peter S. Bizarre

Former members

Deceased members

Early career

Proof formed D12 as a rap collective of local Detroit MCs including Terrence Mckay, Bizarre, Eminem, Eye Kyu, Killa Hawk, and Fuzz. Charging Soldier was in the group briefly, but was kicked out due to arguments with other members. The group was a loose collective in the vein of Wu-Tang Clan. Several members began making names for themselves in hip hop during the late 1990s. Bizarre was named Inner City Entertainment's "Flava of the Week". He went on to release an album called Attack Of The Weirdos and become a member of The Outsidaz with Eminem, Rah Digga and Young Zee. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source in 1998.

Before the group had any success, Killa Hawk, Fuzz, and Eye Kyu would all leave the group due to various reasons, leaving only three official members: Eminem, Proof and Bizarre. Proof was set to find other local rappers to join the group, he managed to get his friend Bugz to join the group. To round up the last two members Proof gathered a local Detroit hip hop duo Da Brigade to join. Da Brigade featured longtime Eminem and Proof friend Kon Artis, who also collaborated with Eminem on the Slim Shady EP. The other half of Da Brigade was formed by local emcee Kuniva. After all six members were established, the group made a pact that the first member to achieve solo success would come back for the others.

Rise to fame

Main article: Eminem

The first member of the group to achieve solo success was the now superstar Eminem. After he recorded an independent EP called The Slim Shady EP in 1997 that caught the attention of famed rap producer Dr. Dre and Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine, and he was quickly signed to Aftermath/Interscope records. Eminem stuck to his pact, and Dr. Dre once stated that while making The Slim Shady LP, his debut album, he kept insisting that he go back to sign the others. Dr. Dre told him to first establish himself as a solo artist, then go back for his friends.

In 1999 he dropped his hit debut The Slim Shady LP and quickly rose to superstardom, as The Slim Shady LP went on to sell four million copies in the United States. Having taken Dre's advice, he had established himself as a solo artist and decided it was time to gather his friends. As a way to establish D12, he created Shady Records under the Interscope imprint. He then made D12 the first act to be signed to Shady/Interscope Records.

Death of Bugz

Main article: Bugz

After the group was signed to Shady Records, they went on tour with Eminem. Before a show in Detroit, D12 member Bugz attended a picnic which would culminate in his death. Bugz got into a heated argument with another man at the picnic over a water-gun fight. As the argument escalated, the man went to his SUV and retrieved a firearm which he then proceeded to fire in Bugz's direction. Bugz was shot three times and hit by the assailant's vehicle as he fled the scene. The attack was caught on tape and shown on the local news later that night.

D12 was shaken by the incident that darkened the light mood of the rap collective. One of the last things Bugz had asked Proof was that if local rapper and friend Swift could join the group. Due to all six positions being filled at the time, he was unable to join, but following Bugz's death, and with Swift being a longtime friend of the group, they had no problem allowing him to take his place as the sixth member.

In memory of Bugz the group recorded the track "Good Die Young" on their second album D12 World. The album also included a song titled "Bugz '97", which was a 1997 recording of Bugz himself. All five members of D12 bear a tattoo of his name somewhere on their bodies in remembrance of him as well as the newest member Swift. The group was forced to record their first LP Devil's Night without Bugz, but the album was in his memory. Eminem's second album The Marshall Mathers LP was also dedicated to Bugz.

Success

The group has released a debut and sophomore album, the former titled Devil's Night and the latter titled D12 World. Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard music charts in the U.S. and topped the charts in many other countries. The two albums' hit singles included "Purple Pills", "Fight Music", "My Band", and "How Come".

The group was often overshadowed by Eminem's massive success, and toured without him for the second album while Em was busy recording Encore. Although shadowed by Eminem's success, other members Bizarre and Proof managed to prevail with mildly successful solo careers with the releases of Hannicap Circus and Searching for Jerry Garcia in 2005. D12 (minus Eminem) appeared on Tech N9ne's 2002 album entitled Absolute Power on the track "She-Devil". They also decided that Eminem would not be as prominent on the third album "The Ambition",[citation needed] however this all changed dramatically after the death of Proof in April 2006.

Death of Proof

Main article: Proof (rapper)

On April 11 2006, Proof was murdered after suffering a fatal gunshot wound to the head at approximately 4:30am EDT (08:30 UTC) at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan after fatally shooting Keith Bender Jr.. Proof fired the first shots into Bender's head after taking his pistol and striking Bender several times in the face. The eruption is suspected to have been due to an argument over a game of pool, which quickly escalated. Proof was then allegedly shot by the bouncer Mario Etheridge, Bender's cousin. He was then taken by private vehicle to St. John Health's Conner Creek Campus, an outpatient emergency treatment site, and was pronounced dead on arrival shortly thereafter. Exact details of his death and the events that led to it remain unclear.

He was buried on April 20 in The Fellowship Chapel, Detroit to a full house of 2,000 with thousands mourning outside. Eminem and Obie Trice read eulogies at the service. An excerpt from Eminem's speech: "I'm sure everybody who has ever met him, even just once, can testify to the fact that he illuminated a room when he walked in it. I believe that Proof loved people and people loved him. He was a magnet. He lured you in. You wanted to learn about him, follow his swagger. Without Proof, there would be no Eminem, no Slim Shady, and no D12." Many rap artists offered their condolences to Proof's family after the passing. Proof is survived by his mother Sherallene; father McKinley; wife Sharonda; sons DeShaun Rice and Elijha Abel; and daughters Katieva Walker, Nassan, and Nyeem.

Swift's incarceration

Main article: Swift (rapper)

On April 21 2006, Swift was arrested in Novi, Michigan, after he failed to appear in court. He skipped the court date to attend fallen band-mate Proof's funeral, where he served as an honorary pallbearer. Swift was on probation from a drunk-driving case and served two days in prison in October of 2005 for failing a drug-test when they found alcohol in his blood stream. Swift was sentenced by District Court Judge Brian MacKenzie to 93 days in prison for violating terms of his probation. His incarceration stalled the recording process of D12's third album, and prevented him from appearing in magazine interviews or being reached for comment on Proof's death. He has now been released and is currently working on the third D12 album, with a tentative release date of sometime between March and May of 2007. This was announced by Bizarre on the popular Rap Basement Message Board, in which D12 members occasionally post.

Chart success

Their debut album, Devil's Night, referring to the old Detroit tradition of setting abandoned buildings on fire (something that has since become a thing of the past in Detroit) the night before Halloween, was released in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the U.S. and British charts, also reaching the top of the Canadian charts. Devil's Night went on to sell four million albums worldwide and two million in the U.S. It featured the following hit singles:

  • "Purple Hills" (the clean version of "Purple Pills") reached the top twenty on the Billboard 100 and number one on the rap tracks charts in 2001 as well as number two in the U.K. and the top ten in Australia.
  • "Shit on You" reached the British top ten and the Canadian top five.
  • "Fight Music", featuring Ice T, Angie Martinez, Fat Joe, and Will Smith in its music video, reached the British top twenty and the Australian top forty.

The group's second album was D12 World released on April 27 2004, featuring production by Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kon Artis and Kanye West, and guest appearances by Obie Trice on the track "Loyalty", and B-Real of Cypress Hill on the track "American Psycho II". It debuted at the top of the U.S., U.K., and Australian album charts, and number two in Germany — selling over half a million records in its first week of release in the U.S. alone. "My Band", the album's first single, was also successful reaching number one in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. rhythmic top forty, the top five in the U.K. and Germany, and the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

Appearances in film

The members of the group have also, on occasion, turned to acting. Eminem is the lead actor in 8 Mile and has a cameo appearance in The Wash, while Proof also appears in 8 Mile as a freestyler called "Lil' Tic". The entire group (without Eminem) appear in 2005's The Longest Yard credited as "Basketball Convicts".

D12 member Eminem is set to star in a new film, as of 2006, titled Have Gun — Will Travel, a modernised remake of the 1957 cowboy western television series of the same name. The rest of the group was previously stated to be producing and starring in two movies, one titled Devil's Night — a horror film, and another titled Runyon Cash — about growing up in the streets of Detroit. Since this statement however, there has been no official word about these releases.

D12 Solo Label

Discography

Albums

Singles

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