When Eminem burst into the mainstream after being coached by the legendary Dr. Dre was signed and released his troubled debut album The Slim Shady LP, the group's popularity continued to soar. Formed in 1996 by Detroit rappers Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva, Fuzz Scoota and Bugz, The Dirty Dozen has sold more than five million copies worldwide. His debut album Devil's Night was released in 2001, followed by its follow-up D12 World in 2004. After Bugz's death in 1999, Eminem joined as his successor.
D12's breakneck fast track to fame may be fantastic, but it's kind of ironic. While Eminem silently battled his demon, Proof, the group's leader, was fatally shot three times by a certain Mario Etheridge at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in 2006. The group was then torn apart. Eminem came out of the limelight, overdosed, and experienced depression for the next two years. Since then, D12 has never been the same and we wonder what the boys have been up to today.
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18Eminem: Music to Kill (2020)
Breaking his own record is Eminem's experience. On January 17, 2020 he released his eleventh studio album Music To Be Murdered By. With cameos from elite lyricists like Black Thought, Joel Ortiz, KXNG Crooked and his 5'9' bad-half Royce, Eminem seems to be trying to distance himself from Revival's poppy sound. One of his singles, Godzilla, topped his boastful super sonic speed verses of Rap God (2013) and Majesty (2018).
17Bizarre: These Kinda Nights (2020)
Surprisingly, Bizarre, Mr. Lose-Yourself-video?-I-was-in-the-back also had a cameo on Eminem's surprise 2020 album. Biz provided his vocals in the intro to the quirky club banter starring Ed Sheeran, That Kind of Night . Legendary producer D.A. Doman produced the track and it serves as the fifth single from the album Music to be Murdered By. On the dirty-tuned, layered flute and heavy beats of 808, "Eminem takes us back to his D12 days" and "paints us a picture of a drug-induced, hormone-fueled one-night stand."
sixteenSr. Porter: Carta 2 Sydney (2019)
On the other hand, Mr. Porter, Eminem's hype man, offered us a little sample of his singing voice on the song Letter 2 U from his 2019 album Letter 2 Sydney. The album spawns 15 tracks, only three of which are driven by her vocals while the rest is instrumental. In fact, Mr. Porter is one of the producers Eminem worked with in the early stages of his career. In 1996 he produced Eminem's debut album Infinite.
fifteenKuniva: The Band Theory (2019)
After years of making mixtapes and EPs, Kuniva, aka his alter ego Rondell Beene, released his second studio album, The Bando Theory, in 2019 through Runyon Ave. records. The 14-track album features guest appearances from underground Detroit artists such as Seven The General and Shabazz Ford (Fat Father) among many others. The album's solid production pairs perfectly with Kuniva's deadly pen set, and other than that, this album is well worth listening to.
14Swifty McVay: My Brother's Keeper (2020)
Swifty McVay joined Kuniva in 2020 for their first album together, My Brother's Keeper, featuring notable performances from Maestro Williams, MRK SX, Money Makin' Adee and Cherisha Williams. Opening track Gate Open sees Swifty and Kuniva square off against their heavy horror-core style beats, proving once again that their pen play is still as strong as ever.
Related:15 Surprisingly Good Things Eminem Has Done
13Eminem: Godzilla (2020)
After the release of Music to be Murdered By, Eminem became the first artist to have ten consecutive albums at the top of the US Billboard 200, and the victories didn't stop there. In his second single, the Juice WRLD-backed Godzilla, Eminem reminisces about his old Shady days and breaks his own world record for fastest rap. Its music video, directed by Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade, was released on March 10, 2020. To date, it has over 70 million views and the number keeps growing.
12Stranger: Touch of Love (2018)
When Eminem Kamikaze took on so-called rappers and media critics in 2018, Bizarre hopped on Shady's plane. Shortly after Eminem released Killshot, his MGK diss track, Biz' released his lyrical insult Love Tap, which took aim at rapper-turned-pundit Joe Budden and Jay Electronica. For the record, Joe was one of the few bodies Eminem bagged in Kamikaze, and Jay took to Twitter to mock Eminem for his "but Kells, the day you take a hit is the day Diddy admits that he dropped the hit that got Pac. "killed" line.
11Mr. Porter: Book by Ryan (2018)
Here's a fun fact for you: Mr. Porter, like Kanye West in his early days, was actually a producer. In the early stages of D12's formation, he actually served as the group's producer before Kuniva persuaded him to join the group as a rapper. He has collaborated with Eminem and a handful of other Detroit artists, including his 5'9" bad-half Royce on his 2018 album Book of Ryan. The two Detroit heavyweights have teamed up again for Royce's 2020 album, The Allegory", together.
10Kuniva: The grind doesn't stop!
The routine doesn't stop for Kuniva. Not more than two years after releasing The Bando Theory and collaborating with Swifty McVay for My Brother's Keeper, one of D12's sickest presenters took to Twitter to announce that he's gearing up for another new album, "Coming Soon." “. Barring anything else, his latest album will likely be called Black Mamba, according to his now-deleted 2017 Instagram post.
9Swifty McVay: Two Good Old Friends (2020)
Swifty has teamed up with former Shady Records signee Obie Trice for the "Phoney" soundtrack of Devils Night: A Dawn of The Nain Rouge. In the early days of Eminem's heyday, Bizarre introduced him to rap mogul Mr. Real-Name-no-Gimmicks, and before long Eminem signed him to Shady Records. Interestingly, Eminem's real brother, Nathan Kane Mathers, stars in the film.
Related:18 years of Eminem's "8 Mile": That's what the actors are doing today (15 photos)
8Eminem: Meet Mike Tyson (2020)
On March 20, 2020, Eminem stopped by Mike Tyson's Hotboxin' podcast to talk life, rap and boxing with the legendary Iron Mike. Captured right before the Godzilla music video was filmed, Eminem sat down with Mike for over 45 minutes and you can tell he was totally impressed. "You're like a god to me man," praised the rap god Mike. "It takes a lot to become a champion."
7Strange: Life After Shady (2018)
Bizarre released his goofy, self-deprecating song Life After Shady in 2018. As the song's title suggests, Biz chronicles his life after Shady. In 2018, Eminem was reportedly secretly dating Nicki Minaj, which turned out to be a publicity stunt to promote his 2018 album Queen. Biz, who got Nicki Minaj's face tattooed on his arm in 2011, doesn't seem to believe the rumor and "urges" Eminem to show his love: "Let me see how you do it (do it) / Tat her on your ace, marshal".
6Sr. Porter: Sr. Porter x Hopsin (2020)
Eminem is undoubtedly a god-level lyricist, but he wouldn't have been written by Dr. Dre co-signed and would be anyone Eminem. know today. In 2020, Mr. Porter produced Graph's hopsin song Who Shot Ya, which serves as the third track on Graph's forthcoming album Oracle III, due out March 6.
5Kuniva: My Why (2020)
The music video for the second song from Kuniva and Swifty's collaborative album, titled "My Why," features the two brothers reminiscing about their early D12 days with Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, along with Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg and remind others. The moving video tribute is dedicated to his late General Proof and will be directed by his eldest son, DeShaun Rice.
4Swifty McVay: A Bittersweet Personal Redemption (2018)
In 2018, Swifty McVay released her second EP and accompanying audiobook, The Seventh Star: The Autobiography of Ondre Moore, featuring cameo appearances from many Detroit-based acts. Ondre Moore's autobiography audiobook is an uncompromising memoir and insight into Swifty's childhood and her D12 days. Additionally, the accompanying EP The Seventh Stars includes guest appearances from Lil David Ruddin, Tristan Lee, Maestro, MRK SX and Obie Trice.
Related:15 Underrated Gems From Eminem's Catalog (Only Hardcore Fans Know)
3Honorable Mention: Test
Eminem may be the most brilliant rapper of all The Dirty Dozen members, but Proof was their leader and commanding general. Around the time of Eminem's first record deal, Proof, whose real name is DeShaun Holton, was the one who brought together all the members from different backgrounds. Sadly, after a 2006 game of billiards at Detroit's CCC nightclub turned into a heated argument, Proof took the balls off and died.
2Honorable Mention: Bugz
One of the founding members of The Dirty Dozen was Bugz, who was shot four times in 1999. D12 was still a local group back then, and after his death, Eminem was recruited to fill in the gaps. To cheer and celebrate the memory of his life, the Bugz Estate released his first and last posthumous mixtape, The One Man Mob Mixtape, under the moniker Bugz of D12.
1The end of the line for the dirty dozen
Now what about The Dirty Dozen? His last mixtape, The Devil's Night, was released five years ago without a cameo from Eminem, except for the freestyle opening song. In 2018, Eminem officially announced that D12 had broken up at Stepping Stone: "The less there's left to close, so we're dropping that / It's not goodbye to our friendship, but D12 is over."
At the moment all members are busy creating their own solo careers and the best a fan can do right now is to support them.
NEXT:12 surprising things Eminem does to stay in shape