Rapper Proof Killed in Eight Mile Bar Shooting

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Proof, a rapper with D12, was killed in shooting at a bar on Detroit’s notorious Eight Mile.

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.

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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.”

By Tuesday night, fans had created an impromptu shrine outside the club, setting stuffed animals near a telephone pole bearing an oversize memorial card that steadily filled with signatures.

Proof, D12 Rapper, Killed in Eight Mile Bar Shooting (Photo) RIP

Update (4/13): Proof apparently fired first.

Rapper Proof fired the first bullet in a Detroit nightclub shootout that ended his life, police said Wednesday. The bullet hit Keith Bender, 35, in the head, critically injuring him early Tuesday at the C.C.C., a bar in a strip of businesses along Eight Mile, the road made famous in Eminem’s movie of the same name.

Detectives are currently trying to figure out who shot Proof, said Detroit police spokesman Sgt. Omar Feliciano. He said his office was told by homicide detectives that Proof fired the first shot at Bender. Feliciano said no further information has been released.

See OTB for political commentary on the rapper lifestyle.

Rapper Proof Killed in Eight Mile Bar Shooting

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