D12
D12 performing live at the Anger Management Tour in 2005.
Background information
Also known as	D-12, The Dirty Dozen
Origin	Detroit, Michigan
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Shady Interscope Goliath Web
Associated acts	Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, G-Unit, Eminem, Slaughterhouse
Website	http://www.d12online.com/
Members
Bizarre Denaun Porter Eminem Kuniva Swifty
Former members
Bugz Proof† Eye-Kyu

D12 (also known as D-12 and The Dirty Dozen) is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.¹ D12 was formed in 1990, but only achieved mainstream success when one of its members, Eminem, rose to international fame and notoriety.² D12 has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

History

Early career

Proof formed D12 as a rap collective of local Detroit MC's including Bizarre, Eminem, Eye-Kyu, Bugz, and Proof. The group was a loose collective in the vein of Wu-Tang Clan. The original concept of D12 was to have 12 of Detroit's most talented rappers. However, Eminem, Proof, Eye-Kyu, Bizarre and the other members at the time were unable to find 12 rappers who were good enough. Rappers such as Fuzz Scoota, Killa Hawk, B-Flat, and Dirrty Ratt were once affiliated with the D12 to fit Proof's original idea of the Dirty Dozen. However, most of those members left the group during the early stages of the group's creation. Proof decided, in order to have 12, the six members would each create an alter-ego. Proof chose Dirty Harry. At some point afterwards, most-likely early 1997, Eminem created the Slim Shady concept. Bizarre became Peter S. Bizarre. Kuniva became Hannz G., which later became Rondell Beene. Denaun became Kon Artis. Bugz became Robert Beck. During 1997, and continuing throughout 1998, several members began making names for themselves in Detroit. 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 an honorary member of The Outsidaz with Eminem, Rah Digga and Young Zee. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source in 1998. D12 was also seen getting into a fight with three strangers out side a bar in Detroit in 1998 .

Before the group had any success, Killa Hawk and Fuzz left the group. Fuzz in particular did not get along well with Proof (according to Eminem in his book Angry Blonde). D12 went through many changes during its beginning stages – leaving only four official members: Proof, Bizarre, Eminem and Eye Kyu for a long while. Eminem then later left to pursue his solo career after being heard by Dr. Dre. D12 temporarily stopped, as Eminem was concentrating on his own music. Right about when Eminem got a deal, Proof decided to gather up the group members and carry on D12. Proof was set to find other local rappers to join the group. Proof managed to pick up local Detroit hip hop duo Da Brigade to join. Da Brigade featured longtime Eminem and Proof friend Kon Artis, who also produced Eminem's first album Infinite. The other half of Da Brigade was formed by local MC Kuniva. Kon Artis was just the producer for D12 at the time, but was later convinced to join D12 as an artist after his partner Kuniva decided to join the Dirty Dozen. Kuniva then introduced Bugz to Proof who later joined the group. Bizarre again joined, but Eye Kyu had decided not to. D12 were in need of one more member, until Bugz asked to have his long time friend Swifty, who at the time was already a member of the rap duo Da Rabeez to join.³

Rise to fame

The first member of the group to achieve solo success was 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. 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 released his hit debut The Slim Shady LP and quickly rose to super stardom 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. The group toured with Eminem after they signed with Shady Records.

Death of Bugz

Before a show in Detroit, D12 member Bugz attended a picnic which resulted in him being assaulted. Bugz argued with a man over a water-pistol fight. As the argument escalated, the man went to his SUV and retrieved a firearm which he then fired in Bugz's direction. Bugz was shot four times and hit by the assailant's vehicle as he fled the scene. The attack, which took place on May 21, 1999, was caught on tape and shown on the local news later that night.

D12 was shaken by the incident, darkening the light mood of the rap collective. One of the last things Bugz had asked Proof was to allow Swifty to join D12⁴. Unfortunately, a few weeks after Swift joined, Bugz was killed, and the rest of D12 couldn't cope and started to believe it was over. After Bugz's death, Eminem asked if he could substitute for Bugz to help them out and do some shows with them which they were booked for prior to Bugz's death. This eventually led to Eminem becoming a member of D12 again.⁵

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, originally from the song 'Desperados'. All five members of D12 bear a tattoo of his name somewhere on their bodies in remembrance of him. The group recorded their first LP Devil's Night in his memory. Eminem's second album The Marshall Mathers LP was also dedicated to Bugz.

Success

The group has released two albums, Devil's Night and 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".

In August 2001, D12 and Esham were kicked off the Warped Tour after members of the group allegedly physically attacked Esham over the lyrics of his song "Chemical Imbalance," which contained a reference to Eminem's daughter. Eminem was not present during the tour.⁶⁷

The group was often overshadowed by Eminem's massive success, and toured without him for the second album while Eminem 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 their upcoming third album, which remains evident even after Proof's death. Their third album is estimated to be 70% completed with yet any input from Eminem. However in June 2009 Eminem confirmed he was also working hard on the groups 3rd studio album on a announcement made on Rap city during a interview with Eminem and Denaun Porter.⁸

Death of Proof

On April 11, 2006, Proof died from a gunshot wound at a club in Detroit, Michigan, after fatally shooting Keith Bender, Jr., after an argument over a game of pool. Proof was then shot by the bouncer Mario Etheridge, Bender's cousin. At St. John Health's Conner Creek Campus, he was pronounced dead on arrival shortly thereafter.⁹ He was buried on April 19 in The Fellowship Chapel, Detroit, to a full house of 2,660 with thousands mourning outside.¹⁰

Swift's incarceration

On April 21, 2006, Swifty was arrested in Novi, Michigan, after he failed to appear in court. He skipped the court date to attend fallen group-member Proof's funeral, where he served as an honorary pallbearer. Swift was on probation from a drunk-driving case and served two days in jail in October 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 jail 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 was then released and worked on the third D12 album.

Third album

As of March 4, 2010, D12 have started work on their third studio album ¹¹

Feuds

Benzino/The Source

Rapper Eminem was granted "2/5 mics" for his sophomoric effort, The Marshall Mathers LP, by infamous Hip Hop magazine The Source during early 2000. This did not go over well with Eminem, and he mocked The Source in a few songs. However, a beef did not ensue until Source co-owner, Ramond 'Benzino' Scott, released a diss track aimed at Eminem, and granted his own rap group's album "4/5" mics, as well as a front page cover on the magazine. A beef quickly ensued, where Eminem, along with Shady Records artists, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, and D12 ripped apart The Source's credibility, citing that nowadays with Scott as the owner, the magazine was corrupt.¹² Competing Hip Hop magazine, XXL also became entangled with the feud, and eventually Scott retired (unofficially fired) from The Source. Since then, Benzino has attempted to discredit the reputation of Eminem and other upcoming artists such as Slaughterhouse and Shady Records by leaking racist comments made by a youthful Eminem. Eminem's last known response to Benzino was on the track, Like Toy Soldiers¹³

Everlast/Limp Bizkit

In the early 2000s, Eminem was notified while on the Anger Management Tour that former House Of Pain member, Everlast, had mocked him on a song. Everlast claimed that while passing by Mathers in a hotel lobby, Mathers gave him a "weird look."¹⁴ Taking offense to this, Eminem and D12 quickly began work on a retaliatory song, "Quitter." It was reported that long-time friends of Eminem, group Limp Bizkit, were meant to be featured on the song, but Fred Durst canceled at the last moment. The record continued its release without featuring Limp Bizkit, causing the Everlast-Mathers dispute to continue. In a TRL interview, Limp Bizkit member, DJ Lethal, made a statement that if Mathers and Everlast were to fight in real life, Everlast would win. This angered Eminem to the point of rage, and an insulting track aimed at both Everlast and Limp Bizkit appeared on D12's mainstream debut, Devil's Night, as the track "Girls." Recently, things seem to have settled, and Eminem has no longer been heard insulting Everlast or Limp Bizkit. It is currently unknown if the dispute is resolved.¹⁵

Chart success

Their debut album, Devil's Night, referring to the old Detroit tradition of setting abandoned buildings on fire 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 UK and the top ten in Australia.
• "Shit on You" reached the British top ten and the Canadian top five.
• "Flight Music", (the clean version of "Fight Music"), featuring Ice T, Angie Martinez, Fat Joe,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., UK, 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 UK 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 freestyle rapper called "Lil' Tic". The group (without Eminem) appear in 2005's The Longest Yard credited as "Basketball Convicts" although at one point Eminem can be heard rapping about football while the convicts are practicing. The group recorded the song "My Ballz" for The Longest Yard soundtrack.

D12 member Eminem was set to star in a new film, as of 2006, titled Have Gun — Will Travel, a modernized 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. The movie has now been delayed until 2010.

Discography

• 2001: Devil's Night
• 2004: D12 World

References

External links

• Official website
• The Return of D12: The Switfy McVay Interview on Dubcnn
• D12World.com
• D12 at MySpace