Days after his slaying in a nightclub shootout police claim he instigated, Proof is being defended by both his lawyer and longtime pal Eminem.
Speaking for the first time since Proof's killing early Tuesday, Eminem released a statement on his Website Friday calling the fallen rapper the driving force behind Detroit hip-hop.
"You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long. Proof and I were brothers," Eminem, who rapped alongside Proof in the group D12, said in the statement. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement, there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady. "Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always, will be, my best friend."
Now, about the way he died. The 32-year-old Proof (whose real name was Deshaun Holton) was shot in the head about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at C.C.C., a bar on Eight Mile Road, the street along Detroit's northern edge immortalized in Eminem's semiautobiographical movie of the same name. Investigators say Proof got into a heated argument--some unconfirmed reports say it was over a pool game--and pistol-whipped 35-year-old Keith Bender Jr.
Then, according to police and some witnesses, Proof shot Bender in the head. At that point, Bender's cousin, 28-year-old Mario Etheridge, reportedly a bouncer at the bar, gunned down Proof, shooting him three times in the head and chest.
Proof was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. Bender remains in critical condition at a separate facility.
Etheridge, meanwhile, surrendered and was charged Friday with carrying a concealed weapon and discharge of a firearm in a building, according to the Wayne County prosecutor's office.
The charge was filed to keep Etheridge in custody.
His lawyer, Randall Upshaw, contends that Etheridge shot Proof in self-defense and to protect another person from bodily harm and should not face any serious charges, but the D.A. and detectives aren't so sure.
"Our investigation in this case is far from over," prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. Likewise, a Detroit police spokewoman says investigators are still probing the shooting.
Proof's lawyer, meanwhile, has rejected the contention that the rapper shot first.
"To indicate that Proof pulled the trigger is reckless and, quite frankly, it will be proved to be untrue," he told the Detroit Free Press Thursday.
"It's disingenuous to speak to the media to try and suggest that Proof shot first. There are ways to determine what shots were fired and by whom," he continued. "There's an ongoing investigation. Until all of the factual evidence has been evaluated, an opinion by the Detroit Police Department is premature."
Funeral arrangements for Proof have not been announced, but a memorial service is reportedly in the works.
tudom,de az a seggfej nigger egyenlõ a kaszással...hisz megölte...de mind1
...jöttem volna hamarabb is,csak akármilyen nickkel regeltem,amiko a saját jelszavamat akartam beírni,vagy nemistom..amit az sg küldött nekem..tök mind1..nem fogadta el,mindig hibát írt ki..aztán félév elteltével meguntam és kértem haverom, h regeljen egyet nekem ezen a néven
de nemtom, hogy itt lesz-e az is...én rámentem de csomó inaktív volt,bár lehet, hogy csak rákellett volna vinnem vmelyik menü pontra az egeret és kész..nézd meg te
1 Intro 2 Fack 3 Way I Am 4 My Name Is 5 Stan - Dido, Eminem 6 Lose Yourself 7 Shake That - Nate Dogg, Eminem, 8 Sing for the Moment 9 Without Me 10 Like Toy Soldiers 11 Real Slim Shady 12 Mockingbird 13 Guilty Conscience 14 Cleanin' out My Closet 15 Just Lose It 16 When I'm Gone 17 Stan [Live][*] - Eminem, Elton John
ok,van1rakat olyan szám az albumon, mely régen is volt,de van pár új..szal..ez most volt,vagy nem.Annyira nemvok jártas Eminemnél sajna,te talán jobban nyomon követed az albumok megjelenését meg stb.
errõl van szó, tavaly még nem a régebbi albumjait halottam hanem csak az utángyártottakat, áés azok között elvétve volt egy-két jó szám, de mióta meghallgattam a 2Pacalypse Now-t, a világ legjobb rapperének tartom..
A Ghetto Gospel-nél sajna Em úgy elcseszte a hangját, hogy nekem nem jön be. Halgass nnéhány régi albumot, és utána mond hogy szar.. Amúgy fasza a logód !
-Eminem számomra egy életforma: abszolút példakép-
látom zajlik az élet
Eminem legjobb albumja az Infinite (szerintem) Amúgy ne értsetek félre, csípem a gyereket, vele kezdtem a rap felé íránti érdeklõdésem, és az évek alatt nem vettem át a fikázós stílust, és ugyanúgy hallgatom mint régen..
Egy kis változtatást mertem eszközölni a banneren...:) remélem jó lett!
dettó igyvagyok énis anno eminem miatt szerettem meg a stílust,és rengeteg haverommal ellentétben én maradtam ebben a müfajban (többiek meg mind....gondolom mondani se kell...rokk...)