Apr 11, 06
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Rapper Proof dies.
This guy was pretty talanted. I remember him and eminem trading verses on a freestyle tape from back in the day.
Quote:
Rapper killed in nightclub shooting
Proof was one of Eminem's closest friends
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 Posted: 2255 GMT (0655 HKT)
Rapper Proof was killed early Tuesday in a Detroit nightclub shooting, his publicist says.YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Eminem
Detroit (Michigan)
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- One of Eminem's closest friends was killed early Tuesday in a seedy nightclub along the road made famous by the rap superstar.
Proof, a member of the rap group D12, was hit by gunfire at the CCC club on Eight Mile, the dividing line between Detroit and its northern suburbs. Police said he and another man were shot in the head. The other man lived but was critically injured.
Officers responding to 911 calls found the bar empty when they arrived, and police said the victims were taken to hospitals by private vehicles.
Proof, real name Deshaun Holton, was dead on arrival at St. John Conner Creek, an outpatient treatment facility that used to be a hospital.
"It's kind of a messy affair, and we're trying to sort it all out," said police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings.
She said detectives don't know what Proof was doing at the bar, which was operating outside of its licensed hours.
Proof, 32, played a bit part in Eminem's 2002 film that carried the title "8 Mile." He and Eminem seldom were seen in public without each other. Proof was the best man at Eminem's wedding in January, and they have been close friends since before Eminem became a superstar.
The video for the Eminem song "Like Toy Soldiers" shows Eminem pacing a hospital hallway as doctors try to revive Proof, who has been shot. Later, Eminem attends Proof's funeral as the song's lyrics lament the escalation in violence between rappers.
It was Proof's idea to form D12 in the mid-1990s, when the members met at Detroit's Hip-Hop Shop, a clothing store by day and hip-hop club by night. The six-member Detroit-based rap group counts Eminem among its members.
Proof's family members gathered at a home on Detroit's northwest side after hearing the news. The street in the neighborhood of two-story homes was lined with vehicles, and people hugged each other on the sidewalk.
Police spent the day collecting evidence at the small nightclub. The investigation yielded witnesses but no suspects, said police Sgt. Eren Stephens Bell. Like many small bars, the club had no video surveillance system, she said.
Officers said an argument at the club escalated into gunshots.
A spot of blood was on the street in front of the tavern, and police marked shell casings in a parking lot across the street.
Patrol officers said the bar is a frequent source of problems on the city's east side. Police spokesman James Tate said officers have taken 18 incident reports there since 1996. The latest was a vice raid in December in which six tickets were issued, most involving minors possessing or drinking alcohol.
Another member of Eminem's inner circle -- rapper Obie Trice -- was shot while driving on a Detroit-area highway in December.
Riding on Eminem's stardom, D12's debut album, 2001's "Devil's Night," sold more than 4 million copies. Its most recent release was 2004's "D12 World." Like Eminem's songs, D12's lyrics are humorous but often laced with profanity.
Proof also made a solo album called "Searching for Jerry Garcia" that was released last year.
Proof's Web site was updated Tuesday to include a picture of the tattooed rapper with the words "RIP Proof."
Outside the bar this morning, the Rev. Ann Johnson posted a sympathy card and taped a purple stuffed bunny toy to a telephone pole. Johnson runs a nearby shelter for the homeless and said Proof and other D12 members often donated toys and other items during the holidays.
"My heart just hurts," she said. "Somewhere, somehow, this has got to stop. You've got good people dying."
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