Proof (rapper) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Proof (rapper)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (February 2011)
Proof (rapper)
Proof in August 2005
Background information
Birth name
DeShaun Dupree Holton
Born
October 2, 1975(1975-10-02)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Origin
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died
April 11, 2006 (aged 30)
Genres
Hip hop
Occupations
Rapper, record producer, actor
Years active
1992 C 2006
Labels
Iron Fist
Associated acts
D12, Eminem, Promatic, K-Stone, Bizarre, Goon Sqwad, 5 Elementz, Soul Intent, 50 Cent, Obie Trice
DeShaun Dupree Holton (October 2, 1975 C April 11, 2006) better known by his stage name, Proof, was an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. During his career, he was a member of the groups Goon Squad, 5 Elementz, Promatic, and most notably, D12. He was a close childhood friend of rapper Eminem since they were 12, and lived on the same block, although they attended different schools. In 2006, Proof was shot and killed during an altercation at a nightclub.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Music career
2.1 Early career
2.2 Solo work
3 Death
4 Tributes
5 Discography
6 Filmography
7 Videography
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Early life
DeShaun Holton was born on October 2, 1975, to Pepper Holton, a single mother. Proof's father, Salt Holton, was a music producer who abandoned the family (before Proof was born) to pursue his career. Proof grew up in Warren, Michigan where he met childhood friend and future work associate Marshall Mathers aka Eminem.
[edit] Music career
[edit] Early career
Proof first rose to national prominence as a part of the rap group D12, which he was instrumental in forming, although he had achieved a degree of success prior. He was featured in The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column in 1999 and came close to winning the 1998 Blaze Battle. His first television appearance was in the video for Aaliyah's "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number". In 2000, Proof toured along with Eminem, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in the Up In Smoke Tour as a hype man for Eminem. He rose to prominence in 2001 with the release of Devil's Night, D12's debut album on Interscope Records. The following year, Proof collaborated with Dogmatic on Promatic and joined Eminem's "Anger Management" tour in support of the release.[1] He appeared in the film 8 Mile along with Eminem and Xzibit; although in the film the character based on him, Future, was portrayed by Mekhi Phifer, he played Lil' Tic, a freestyle rapper who rap battles B-Rabbit, the lead character, played by Eminem.[2] To capitalize on the publicity from the film, Proof released a six-song EP called Electric CoolAid: Acid Testing.[3] Proof also had a cameo alongside the rest of D12 in The Longest Yard appearing as "Basketball Convicts" in the credit.
[edit] Solo work
Proof released a solo album featuring collaborations with rappers 50 Cent, Method Man, Nate Dogg, B-Real of Cypress Hill, T3 of Slum Village, Obie Trice, and D12 on his own Iron Fist Records label in conjunction with Alliance Entertainment's IDN Distribution. Proof said that he did not produce the record with Shady Records or Aftermath because he wanted to "build his own thing".[citation needed] Called Searching for Jerry Garcia, the album was released on August 9, 2005 on his own Iron Fist Records label, ten years to the day following Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia's death. It contained the prophetic song Kurt Kobain in which he wrote of his own death and 'passing the sign' to 1st Born as his protege once he was gone.[4][5] This release did not make a significant impact on the charts despite its list of guest appearances.
Originally, Proof realized that Eric Clapton's son fell to his death from a 53rd-story window.[6]
Proof has said that he considered Garcia to be a "genius" who suffered from common character flaws. Proof has stated his admiration for Garcia's eclectic style, saying that Garcia "went against the grain".[7] The album received favorable reviews, which commented on its "eclectic" and "introspective" nature.[8]
Proof stated how he wanted to be remembered in an interview with SOHH.com shortly after his album release: "I want people to say that I was a true artist, that I did it best and stayed true to Hip Hop roots [...] I'd want people to understand I did it for the love, not for the charts."[9]
Proof also recorded a track, "How I Live," with Twiztid for their album Independence Day shortly before his death.
[edit] Death
On April 11, 2006, Holton was shot in the back at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, by club bouncer Mario Etheridge while playing a game of billiards. A pool game between Keith Bender & Holton turned into a heated argument and escalated into a physical altercation. Etheridge, who was also Bender's cousin, fired a warning-shot into the air. It was reported that Holton shot and killed Bender in the altercation, but such claims have been questioned and remain to be factually substantiated. Bender, however, was shot and later died from his injuries. Etheridge shot Holton in the head and back with four shots. He died on the spot. At the time of his death, Holton's blood alcohol content was 0.32 percent, four times the legal DUI limit. An autopsy revealed that Holton did not have any illegal narcotics in his system. Bender's family began a wrongful death suit against Holton's estate. Authorities determined Etheridge was acting in lawful self-defense of another man; however, he was found guilty of carrying an illegal firearm and discharging it inside of a building.[10][11][12][13][14]
On April 19, 2006, Proof was buried in The Fellowship Chapel in Detroit to a full house of 2,660, including Eminem, D12, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice and Snoop Dogg, with thousands more mourning outside.[15]
Several months later, hip-hop magazine XXL published an alternative account of the evening in a feature article with information from Proof's friend, a police officer who accompanied him on the night of the shooting and claimed to have brought the gun that was used to kill Bender.[16] Mudd claimed that his group went to the CCC Club after going to a strip club, began drinking and said Proof played pool against Bender. He observed Proof and Bender begin arguing, noting that "it wasnt anything out of the ordinary for Proof to get drunk and fight." Mudd said after they were separated Bender hit Proof and a fight between the two broke out. Shortly afterward he saw Etheridge shoot his gun up into the air to break up the fight. Proof then demanded Mudd's gun. And after Mudd refused, Proof pulled the weapon from Mudd's pants and fired it into the air. Mudd claimed that Bender started attacking Proof, trying to get the gun out of his hand, and that during the scuffle, Etheridge fired shots that hit both men.[16]
[edit] Tributes
In 2007, Proof's mother, Pepper Holton, created the Proof Foundation in her son's memory. The Proof Foundation is a Michigan-based non-profit organization formed to honor and preserve the legacy of DeShaun Proof Holton through the promotion of music and arts education by providing scholarships to low income children from single parent households. Proof's death was mentioned in Eminem's 2009 album Relapse ("Deja Vu", "Beautiful" and "Elevator"), and on his 2010 album Recovery ("Going Through Changes", "Talking To Myself", and "You're Never Over"). In 2011 the song "Doody" (earlier titled "Difficult"), a tribute to Proof by Eminem, was leaked. Obie Trice, an old friend of Proof and Eminem, recorded a chorus for the song. Rapper Royce da 5'9" made a tribute to Proof on a song from his Bar Exam mixtape, he would later dedicate a song titled "Security" from his album Success Is Certain.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Proof discography
Discography with D12
The Underground EP (1996)
Devil's Night (2001)
D12 World (2004)
Discography with Promatic
Promatic (2002)
Solo albums
Anywhere (1996)
I Miss the Hip Hop Shop (2004)
Searching for Jerry Garcia (2005)
Hand2Hand - the official mixtape instruction manual (2006)
[edit] Filmography
8 Mile (2002), Lil Tic
The Longest Yard (2005), Basketball Convict
[edit] Videography
"Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" (music video, 1995), extra
"The Real Slim Shady" (music video, 2000), extra
"Shit on You" (music video, 2000), himself
"Purple Pills" (music video, 2001), himself
"Fight Music" (music video, 2001), himself
"Rap Name" (music video, 2002), extra
"My Band" (music video, 2004), himself
"40 Oz" (music video, 2004), himself
"How Come" (music video, 2004), himself
"U R The One" (music video, 2004), himself
"Like Toy Soldiers" (music video, 2005), himself/Bugz
"Welcome 2 Detroit" (music video, 2005), extra
"Gurls Wit Da Boom" (music video, 2005), himself
[edit] References
^ "Proof: Reviews, Discography...". Music.com. June 18, 2004. http://www.music.com/person/proof/1/biography/. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ "8 Mile (2002)". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298203/. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ David Friedman. "Interview with Proof". Murder Dog. Archived from the original on 2006-03-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20060326171329/http://www.murderdog.com/archives/proof/proof.html. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ "Kurt Kobain You Tube Video with lyrics". Youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH9AveluQnw. Retrieved 2010, July 18.
^ "DeShaun Holton: Information". Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/deshaun-holton. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ "Proof: Body of the Life Force". AllHipHop.com. http://web.archive.org/web/20060321203810/http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1143.
^ "Proof "Searching for Jerry Garcia" Review". Hip Hop Galaxy. http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/proof-searching-for-jerry-garcia-article2357.html. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ "Proof - Searching For Jerry Garcia Album Review". Hip Hop DX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.552. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
^ "The Proof Is In The Music". SOHH.com. http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7406.
^ Lawrence Van Gelder, Arts Briefly: Rapper Who Was Killed Fired First Shot, Police Say, The New York Times, April 14, 2006, Accessed November 17, 2008.
^ Lawrence Van Gelder, Arts Briefly: Another Death in Shooting At Detroit Nightclub, The New York Times, April 19, 2006, Accessed November 17, 2008.
^ Lawrence Van Gelder, Arts Briefly: Wrongful Death Suit Against Rapper's Estate, The New York Times, May 3, 2006, Accessed November 19, 2009.
^ Lawrence Van Gelder, Arts Briefly: Proof's Killer Convicted, The New York Times, September 22, 2006, Accessed November 17, 2008.
^ "Proof's Estate sued for damages by Bender's family". BBC News. May 6, 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4964388.stm.
^ . SixShot.com. 2006-04-20. http://www.sixshot.com/news/6031.
^ a b Brendan Frederick, The Death of Proof: Bare Witness,XXL, October 2, 2006, Accessed November 17, 2008.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Proof (rapper)
Proof at the Internet Movie Database
Detailed account of Proof's death, funeral and exact time of death
v
d
e
Proof
Albums
W.E.G.O.
Anywhere
Electric Coolaid Acid Testing EP
I Miss The Hip Hop Shop
Searching for Jerry Garcia
Mixtapes
23 Days Of Hell (I Killed Spiderman)
DJ Exclusive Presents ... Luthaism (Hosted By Proof)
Grown Man Shit
Hand 2 Hand
Mayor of Detroit
Unreleased
Time A Tell
Back Again (With Promatic)
With 5 Elementz
Yester Years EP
The Album That Time Forgot
5 Ela Pt. 3
With Promatic
Promatic LP
Promatic Sampler (2003)
With D12
Devil's Night
Limited Edition Mixtape: Please Bootleg This Album
D12 World
Related Articles
Discography
Shady Records
D12
Eminem
v
d
e
D12
Bizarre
Eminem
Fuzz Scoota
Kuniva
Mr. Porter
Swifty McVay
Bugz
Proof
Devil's Night
"Shit on You"
"Purple Pills"
"Fight Music"
D12 World
"My Band"
"How Come"
Extended plays
The Underground EP
Related articles
Discography
Persondata
Name
Proof
Alternative names
Holton, DeShaun Dupree
Short description
American rapper
Date of birth
October 4, 1975
Place of birth
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Date of death
April 11, 2006
Place of death
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Proof_(rapper)&oldid=478097317"
Categories:
1973 births
2006 deaths
African American rappers
Deaths by firearm in Michigan
Rappers from Detroit, Michigan
Shady Records artists
Hidden categories:
Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from February 2011
All articles needing copy edit
Articles using Infobox musical artist with deprecated parameters
Articles with hCards
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011
Personal tools
Log in / create account
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
Actions
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact Wikipedia
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
?esky
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Espa?ol
Fran?ais
???
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
?????
Nederlands
ձZ
?Norsk (bokm?l)?
Polski
Portugus
ܧڧ
Suomi
Svenska
ܧ?ߧܧ
This page was last modified on 21 February 2012 at 17:20.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details.
Wikipedia? is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Contact us
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Mobile view
