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D12’s Proof Shot Dead at Detroit Club

D12 rapper Proof was shot and killed Tuesday (April 11) morning at an after-hours club on Detroit’s 8 Mile Road. He was 32.

After receiving reports of a fight and shots fired, police arrived at Club 3C, which was operating illegally after hours. Proof (born Deshaun Holton) was pronounced dead on arrival at a medical center in Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. An unidentified 35-year-old man who was shot as well, is in critical condition at Detroit’s St. John Hospital. Though police have yet to release his name, AllHipHop.com hears that the man may be fellow D12 member Bizarre.

Eminem, Obie Trice, and Marv Won from Detroit group the Fat Killahz were set to meet with Proof’s family at the hospital this morning, according to the paper.

Proof was a key figure in the Detroit hip-hop scene for more than a decade. In the mid-’90s, he hosted rap battles at Detroit’s hip-hop shop (Mekhi Phifer played this role in 8 Mile), and later he became the founder of the Detroit-based hip hop group D12, which provided an early stage for then-newcomer Eminem. More recently, Proof was hired to host Showtime’s national search for the best battle rapper. He also hosted the famed Fight Club battle rap competitions in Detroit. In 2005, he released a solo album, Searching for Jerry Garcia.

This month, Proof would have begun work on D12’s third album.

D12 official site

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