Rappers Pay Tribute To Proof

[sexymrsmathers]

Royce Da 5'9--------- I am deeply saddened by the murder of someone I called a good friend. I've known Proof for over nine years and will always remember him for the joy and life that he brought into every room he entered. We first met at Detroit's Hip Hop Shop where Proof was hosting open mics and was considered by most to be Detroit's freestyle king. Even then you could tell there was something special about him. Some people might be familiar with a well-publicized beef that Proof and I had a couple of years ago. Thankfully though, we had not only resolved our conflict, but we also restored our friendship. Back in December, we went overseas together for a few spot dates in Europe where we had a chance to catch up on "the good ole days". We both laughed at how we sometimes forget how far we've come, until you look out of your hotel window and see London's Big Ben or Paris's Eiffel Tower. On that tour we had a chance to visit cities we never even knew existed. Not bad for two kids from Detroit Huh. His death is such a loss for the hip hop community, and especially for the city of Detroit. I hope that he will be remembered for the talented artist and great person that he was, and not the tragedy that he fell victim to. My thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family, friends, and anyone that was ever touched by him.

?uestlove from The Roots Proof.----------------- cotdamn. to hear about life in the d from the dilla related projects i swore them mofos was super exxxxxagerating. why? everyone in the D was so nice to me. i guess most of you know that super monster freestyler Proof of D-12 was murdered this morning in the D. i consider Proof to be the thin line between Em's version of the D and Dilla's version of the D. im mean sure i know that Royce the 5"9 did some joints with dilla. but for the life of me i could never fathom why the man considered one of the worlds finest mc's (Em fans please note i said ONE) never linked with the the greatest beatmaker of all time (note i said THE). however i know that Proof indeed was connected to both worlds. although i met proof at detroit designer's maurice malone's store when the roots first came out in 1995 (this day would also mark the last full american performance of root malik b)---it wasn't until december of 1998 that i got a taste of the man they called Proof. December 31st 1998 tariq, elo (the other mc on The Roots THINGS FALL APART's "dynamite") and i just did a long night at studio a (the home to most of the material on fantastic vol 2 (slum), and most of the Ready For The World records (they were from the D too) and i guess this being the eve of 1999 we were looking for some fun.(elo and tariq had other new years eve plans) dilla being the gracious host he was rang his man up on the phone to set some shit up and sure enough coming in like a hurricane with this crazy foul mouthed hillllllllarious motherfucker named proof. i mean he had jokes from the second he stepped in and NEVER stopped. he was far crazier than the character that Proof's life was based on in 8 mile (m phiffer's role). at first i thought he was a sarcastic fuck because every 2 seconds he was on some rick james "oh my fucking gawd....its quest....motherfucking....love!!!!" shit. i dunno....call it low self esteem, call it modesty, or whatever...but i pretty much took this regular joe guy stance once i realized after our debut album wasn't gonna get us all the riches and the bictches of the world. i am greatful for it. so whenever anyone makes a big deal of me i just shrug it off simply because i don't see the proof or results of such a clamour. however that dosn't mean that i don't appreciate it. i realized that he was sincere in his words and that he was simply trying to rep his city so that i left with a good impression. the d has me at "hello". he had the whole intenerary set up: strip club after strip club bring the strip club home. repeat rinse. so we piled into the caDILLAc: me, dilla, frank of frank n dank, and proof. being the sheepish fuck i was, i asked whether or not we needed to stop to the ATM to get cash so that we could gain admission. proof was dying: "you hear this *****? he tryna pay and shit ***** do you know who you is?!?! you are motherfucking brother ?uestion!!!! they should be paying you!!!!!" poor child i said. he don't know that i mean as much to the bouncer/cashier person at the door as the man on the moon "jay lets be safe and lemme get some cash" proof snickered. well sure enough strip club number one (and mind you this is riiiiiiiiiiiight before "you got me" hit) proof was like "let me do the talking" (walks to guard) (whispers) (guard ganders at us..) (ponders...) (pauses...) (gets another guard) (points me out) (i know what they thinking....why the fuck did i let proof talk me into this) (guard walks to proof in 5...4..3...i can feel it coming) "he said its $30 each" damnit proof!!!!!!!!! i mean proof was mad FOR me. he was on some "yall dont know who the fuck this is?!?!? this man is a legend!!! this man is god's gift to drumming! yall better recognize!!!!!!!!" shit. poor child. just as i was suggesting maybe we should go to the bank to get some cash, proof was screaming "FUCK THAT! we going to get some love elsewhere!" it was 10:30pm december 31st 1998. we drove and drove to no avail. not that we got fronted on....but somehow the business owners of the east side of detroit knew what time it was come midnight, so most kept their doors shut and locked until waaaaaaay after midnight. now dilla was worried because we really needed to find shelter before the bullets were going to rain out the sky. we been riding for an hour in traffic and closed doors to any party worth going to. proof was sensing my patience wearing thin, so he blurted out "fuck it! we rolling to retha's house." dilla and dank started ROLLING. they KNEW this ***** was frontin' aint no way he can make this happen if he couldnt make 3 clubs let us in for free (again i was willing to pay, but proof was on some "fuck that i run the d and these *****s better show some love or else!" the "re" he was referring to was the mother of a friend of his. you know her by her full name: aretha franklin. you had to admire this mofos balls: he "failed" at 4 attempts to have the scrippers hanging off the rafters into my lap and now im just suppose to think that i can crash areatha franklin's livingroom to avoid a hail of bullets courtesy of the midnight uzi patrol? i told frank (driving now) "yo, i really dont think we should be in the east side of detroit when the clock strikes 12...why dont we try to get to (the much safer) westside. proof could sell water to a drowner. "fuck that! we getting in!!!!" (we pull up to aretha's house) (sit in the car.) ("you getting out"?) ("well you get out first") (i don't know her you should go!") (well you have the house number at least? i dont wanna crash this bitch) at 11:56 we decided to haul ass and run for cover. we was too scared to press the doorbell and we did NOT want to be outdoors when they yelled HAPPY NEW YEARS. talk about bullet the blue sky....shesh! new years eve searching for something and all i got was a rock. well not really: we got out of the eastside of detroit just in the nick of time. (we heard bullets ringing out everywhere) we settled on greektown around the corner from my hotel for grub and that was where proof saw his boy who told us about a party to go to. we went and you know what? shit was hillllarious. he was ranking and playing the dozens on everybody and clowning all his female friends like "eat a dick im with questlove!!!!!" "who?!?!?" sigh. poor child. we took those ghetto ass polaroid flicks where there is a air brush painting of a bmw and you front like you living the good life. when the night wound down (5am ish) in all seriousness he apoligized for "a failed mission of hoes hoes hoes" that he promised the beginning of the night. but the whole night within itself was the bigger experience. that shit was just like all of em cramped in that car in the 8mile movie. for 4 hours we peeped all these slum joints, proof had a demo of "its my fault" from the slim shady lp (this is the first time i ever heard about em) we argued up and down about hip hop and all the opinions along with it. a failed night? once again proof was wrong. poor child. rest in peace my brother.

Snoop Dogg Legendary American hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg has called on his fellow musicians to unite after the fatal shooting of D-12 member Proof------------. Proof, a close friend of rapper Eminem and member of the D-12 hip-hop outfit was shot dead outside a Detroit nightclub earlier this week. Snoop Dogg said Proof's death was a loss to the hip-hop community. "He was a part of the hip-hop family," said Snoop Dogg at the MTV Australia Music Awards. "We can't stop it (violence) ... we try to ... we try to be as positive as we can and do good things with our lives." "I just know that every time somebody gets killed in hip-hop we should look at it as a tragedy. "There's nothing we can do to stop it as hip-hop artists but be who we are and continue to make our good music." Snoop Dogg was one of the big names to attend the MTV awards, winning the best hip-hop video award for his song Drop It Like It's Hot.

Insane Clown Posse The Insane Clown Posse, along with the entire Hatchet Family, would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of DeShaun Holton, a.k.a. Proof of D12.----------- It was only in the last few months that we actually got to know Proof, and in the short time we knew him, we learned that he really was a good guy. We know that he will be greatly missed by his friends and family. God bless. Peace, y'all.

B Real--------------- This goes out to my homie Proof,, may god embrace you my friend, your time on this earth with us was short but we'll never forget that lil bit of time we got to know you and spend with you.. whether it was recording in the studio or touring the world.. you were a good friend to me and i'll never foget that.. you'll be missed by those of us that considered you to be family and i can say that i was one of those people..you will never be forgotten... you were a soldier for hip hop and a talented individual the world didn't get to hear enough of .. but us who knew what you were capable of will always know in our hearts what was taken away from us last night... we love you my brother and we will light one up in your name always my friend R.I.P

C-Rayz Walz------------- HE JUST LOST THE FLESHY SHELL FAMILY NAH MEAN SOULJAHS!!!???? MY SHIT IS LIKE HOW REAL DOES SHIT HAVE TO BE BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO KILL TO FUKIN KILL ANOTHER BEING (I DON'T EVEN WANNA FIGHT SOMEONE ELSE) TALK ABOUT CARRY THE CROSS THE SPELL OF LEVIATHAN IS DEEP WE MUST KEEP THE LIGHT CUZ THE DARK IS EVIDENT PEEPS PROOF ONE OF THE BEST HYPEMEN EVER GREAT FREIND...EVEN TO STRANGERS ILL BATTLE CAT...VERY WITTY DOWN TO EARTH ALL AROUND LOVER AND LIVER OF LIFE!! HAHAHAHAHAHHA LAST TIME I SAW PROOF WE GOT DRUNK IN FRONT OF ST. ANDREWS HALL (DETROIT CLUB EVERYONE ROCKS AT IF YOU DON'T KNOW) HIS LITTLE MAN WAS BLAZING THIS OLDER KID IN A STREET BATTLE.. THEN PROOF PULLED HIS ASS OUT AND STARTED RANDOMLY...FARTIN AT CARS.....AS THEY PAST YELLIN "DON'T GET SHOT *****" I THINK I'M PRETTY EXTREME.. BUT PROOF IS CRACK....ME AN ODB WATCHED HIM AMAZE A ROOM FOR 5 MIN TALKING BOUT BEER AHAHAHAHAHAH I GOT TOO MUCH AHAHAHAHAHAHAH MEMORIES OF PROOF....FEELME. THAT'S THE PROOF. PROOF IS ONE OF THOSE CATS THAT CANT DIE MORE THAN PHYSICALLY CUZ HE HAS CLASSIC MOMENTS LIKE THIS ALL OVER THE GLOBE HE LIVED LIFE UNTIL THE TRACK ENDED AND I'M SURE THE DJ BROUGHT IT BACK FOR HIM A FEW TIMES.... AHAHAHAAHAHAH I REMEMBER WHEN HE LOST AT THE BLAZE BATTLE (WE WERE BOTH IN THE 2ND BLAZE BATTLE AND WE BOTH LOST IN LIKE THE FIRST ROUND OR SOME SHIT) HE WAS SO HEATED WHEN HE LOST HIS RHYME HE MADE ME SLAP HIM TO FEEL BETTER AND DISTRACT HIM AT THE SAME TIME.... ME AND VAST GOT THE NEWS WHILE WE WERE ON A CALL WITH EACH OTHER... I GOT A TEXT FROM MY HOMEGIRL WE WERE FUKIN ANGRY AS HELL..... THAT IS OUR BROTHER. FUNNY...AND I DO MEAN FUNNY. RIGHT AFTER WE BOTH TURNED ON MTV FOR THE CONFIRMATION ON THE NEWS...AND OF COURSE IT WAS HEADLINES NEWS TUESDAY MORNING... RIGHT AFTER THE NEWS WENT OFF THIS SNAPPING OFF BATTLE COMPETITION CAME ON AND WE BOTH WATCHED IT FOR TWENTY MINUTES THAT SHIT WAS FUKING FUNNY AS HEEEELLLLLLL I NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE SHOW CATS WERE BATTLIN JOKE FOR JOKE........AHAHAHAHAH WOW YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I AND HUNDREDS OTHERS HAVE DONE THAT WITH PROOF... IT REPRESENTED BALANCE IN A VERY EXACT WAY AS ME AND VAST WERE BUILDING THAT SOMEONE IS STARVING WHILE WE EAT.... LAUGHING WHEN WE CRY...ETC. THAT KID PROOF IS A CLOWN HAPPY WITH LIFE......THE EVENT THAT TOOK HIS LIFE IS NOT FUNNY. HE ALWAYS WILL BE I THINK WHEN YOU ARE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT LIFE YOU DIE...THAT'S WHY I WANNA KEEP LEARNING. FEEL ME AS I SAID IN THE CREDITS IF "RAVIPOPS" WHEN YOU DIE PEOPLE REMEMBER YOU FOR WHO YOU WERE...NO WHO YOU REEEAAALLLLYYYYY WERE. AHAHAHAHAHAHAH PROOF IS FUNNY BESIDES THE THOUGHT OF THE SAD SOUL WHO SHOT MY ***** IN THE HEAD THERE IS NO WAY TO HAVE A SAD THOUGH ABOUT MY MAN PROOF I SUGGEST START SNAPPING ON THE NEAREST PERSON YOU SEE LATER OR START THAT SHIT UP IN A CROWDED ROOM OF DRUNK AND HIGH FREINDS THAT RIGHT MUTHAFUCKAS... START JOKES CIPHERS WHILE PROOF IS STILL FRESH IN THE AIR......HE WILL BE THERE FO SURE. WATCH THE BLUNT LEAVE QUICKER....YOU MAY HEAR HIS BUCK TEETH ASS LAUGH.... OR SPLIT A DUTCH WITH HIS TEETH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PROOF I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR BEING FEARLESS ENOUGH TO BE HAPPY... EVEN WHEN YOU WAS A BROKE ASS BATTLIN NEXT TO MY BROKE BATTLIN ASS. REMEMBER YALL DON'T LET LEGENDS DIE. THE MIND AINT A GRAVEYARD...BUT HEAVEN INDEED STRONGHOLD FOREVER PROOF L.I.P. LIVE IN PEACE THIS PHYSICAL DREAM IS THE REAL RESTING STATE NOW CLOSE YA EYES AND SEE THE PROOF!!!!

Lil Jon----------- WE GOTTA STOP KILLIN EACH OTHER MY NIGGAS!! PROOF WAS A REAL NIGGA. A GOOD NIGGA. NIGGA HAD A WIFE AND KIDS!! HE LOOKED OUT FOR NIGGAS. ALWAYS CRACKIN JOKES AND MAKIN MOTHERFUCKERS LAUGH. WUT DA FUCK!! THIS SHIT WAS PROB OVER SOME BULLSHIT. AINT MANY REAL MOTHERFUCKERS LEF. THIS SHIT GOTTA STOP!! REST IN PEACE MY NIGGA!!

Twiztid------------ Well if you havent heard yet the world has lost, in my opinion, a very special individual early Tuesday morning. His name was Deshaun Holton but most of you know him as Proof from the group D-12. He was unfortunately shot and killed in a club on eight mile in Detroit, Michigan. Me and Jamie want to extend our deepest regrets and condolences to his family, friends and relatives and know that we are truly saddened by this tragedy. A lot of you dont know that we recently got to sit with him in the studio to do a song for our new record and we hit it off really well. He liked what we were doing so much that he said he wanted to go on the road with us and we were in disbelief. Let's not kid our selves here, Proof is a lot bigger than we even dream about being and thats not taking anything from us I'm just keeping it real. He said he was seriously diggin' what we had going over at the Hatchet and said he was down for whatever. After long negotiations Monday night with him and his manager we finally had a game plan in place and at 12:30 a.m. we called it a night. I wake up to take my daughter to school and I'm hit with this unbelievable tragedy. Just know he had love for all of us and made it a point to try and show it in the little time we got to spend with him just how much. From the bottom of our hearts we thank him and all his peers for everything that we were able to do together before he was selfishly taken out of all of our lives. His memory will live with us forever. God bless him and his family.

The Game----------------- Anytime someone dies in the world period I'm upset. It's when they get murdered that it really hits home ! For a person to shoot & kill another person, there had to be a tremendous amount of hate & envy for the victim. I've had so many of my close homies & even brothers, cousins & my uncle die to street violence. Shit is krazy homie because I feel like I should've died in 2001 when niggas tried to murder me & leave me for the wolves. Only God knows why I'm here 2day homie !!! I met Proof early 2002 in a studio in Los Angeles & we clicked right off the back. The same night we were in the studio doing some mixtape shit while Em 50 & Dre were in the back studio workin on Get Rich Or Die Tryin. Over the years we became real kool & remained homies throughout all the beef shit witt G-Unit so to wake up this mornin' at 10:41am flip open my sidekick & read that the homie was killed due to a bullet in the head just literally fucked my day. I will end this short letter by saying this, Proof will always be remembered & I as well as the Black Wallstreet family will keep his memory & his family in our prayers 1.

DJ Exclusive----------- Proof was Detroit HipHop. He has been labeled "The Hip Hop Mayor of Detroit". He was the cornerstone. This is a major loss for the whole hiphop community. Another life gone due to bullshit violence. The last time i spoke w/ him was last week & he wanted me to do a couple new mixtapes for him & his label Iron Fist, Im gonna make sure that those releases still come out for his fans & proceeds goto his family. Proof will always be remembered & loved very much. We need to STOP THE VIOLENCE THO FA REAL! -DJ Exclusive aka Mr No Days Off

Kon Artist -------I just don't know how to feel right now. It's crazy because we're suffering all these losses. We lost Bugz. Now we lost Proof. I just don't know, you know what I mean? We're all so messed up. Whatever happened, whoever this dude is, is still around. This is just crazy.

DJ Butter--------- R.I.P. Proof We made alot of history together. I understood our ups and downs. I hope your business partners really help your legacy live on. I'm glad your were able to release your solo album and get your label poppin'. You always told me, you wasn't getting the respect and pay you deserve from your own people. I hope these muthafuckaz finally appreciate you. You told me, Business is Business and Personal is Personal. I always tried to not mix it up, but I considered you being legendary before the deal (Day 1). Thanks for the fistfights that we survived and even the diss tracks (lol)--you even help promote me thru our little beefs. You helped make my mixtapes important when others wanted to take from me and discredit my history. One thing I loved about you is that you didn't back down from shit. Tell Bugz I said let's "Act A Fool". R.I.P. to you both. Detroit's Mixtape King, DJ Butter

[DarkMan]

props man..

although i was a lil surprised by icp and twiztid..

[InZanE]

props for this..

[Shadyluva]

propzmon this

r.i.p proof

[rap_gurl]

Thanx.

Mad respect for proof.

[Nick419]

wtf? icp speak on proof? thats weird since they have beef with the shady camp and how did they get to know him? o well just strange

[ThomasAguanis]

wtf? icp speak on proof? thats weird since they have beef with the shady camp and how did they get to know him? o well just strange

there was an article on d12world that said icp went bowling with d12 to stop the beef

[ThomasAguanis]

there was an article on d12world that said icp went bowling with d12 to stop the beef

bowling?

out of all the things you can do... they go bowling?

the beef was mostly eminem tho, wasn't it? did he go bowling as well?

it didn't say who went i read it a while ago but just posted it. i'll go reread it now. i remember it being intresting

[DurrtySouth]

Has 50 or G-unit said anything

[bigdrew15]

dam c rayz

you gotta lot to say

[Rob]

Man its quite moving when you see people like the ICP and Royce sayin nice things when you consider the beef. I dont actually think D12 and ICP actually quashed beef so it is good of them to be so understanding.

[Rob]

Has 50 or G-unit said anything

50 was at the funeral, and he has worked with Proof on some D12 stuff such as Rap Game and Forgive me so Id imagine he has sent condolences to Proofs family and friends.



I just wonder if 50 is gonna change style. He raps about guns and shit, yet Em said he wants violence outta the game so maybe he'l back Em - who knows.

[Ethos]

damn everyone was deep when they were talkin about proof. especially those close to him

[ines]

thx for this news

[Rob]

Some of the general public have been leaving messages on the MTV site.

Proof's lyrical ability was matched by only a few. He was on his way up, pulling himself to the top with his talent. Much love to Proof's family and to Eminem in this difficult time (see "Eminem Breaks Silence On Proof; Rapper's Lawyer Denies He Shot First").
Chris, 22
Galesburg, IL



Even if Proof shot first, which I have to doubt, that shouldn't give another man the right to shoot him without facing serious charges (see "Proof Shooting Suspect Charged