DeShaun Dupree Holton (October 2, 1973 – April 11, 2006), better known by his stage name Proof, was an American rapper and actor 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, who lived on the same block. In 2006, Proof was shot and killed during an altercation at the CCC nightclub in Detroit.

Early life

Holton was born to Pepper Holton, a single mother. His father, Mckinley Jackson, was a music producer who left to pursue his career prior to Holton's birth. Holton grew up in Warren, Michigan where he met childhood friend and future musical collaborator Marshall Mathers, who would later rise to fame as Eminem.

Music career

Early career

Originally known as Maximum, under the moniker "Proof", Holton first rose to national prominence as a part of the rap group D12, a hip-hop group he was instrumental in forming. Early individual accomplishments include being featured in The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column in 1999 and nearly 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 with Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg in the Up In Smoke Tour, performing as a hype man for Eminem. He gained further exposure 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. He appeared in the film 8 Mile along with Eminem and Xzibit, although the character based on him, Future, was portrayed by Mekhi Phifer. Proof appeared as Lil' Tic, a freestyle rapper who rap battles the lead character, B-Rabbit, played by Eminem. To capitalize on the publicity from the film, Proof released a six-song EP called Electric CoolAid: Acid Testing. Proof also starred in a cameo role, alongside the rest of D12, in The Longest Yard, appearing as "Basketball Convicts" during the credits.[clarification needed]

Solo work

Proof released a solo album featuring collaborations with 50 Cent, Method Man, Nate Dogg, B-Real of Cypress Hill, T3 of Slum Village, Obie Trice, Eminem, and D12. The album was released 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 protégé once he was gone. 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". 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." The album received favorable reviews, which commented on its "eclectic" and "introspective" nature. Despite its list of guest appearances and favorable reviews, the release did not make a significant impact on the charts.

Proof also recorded a track, "How I Live," with Twiztid for their album Independents Day shortly before his death.[citation needed] Besides these, he recorded during his Gold Coast tour in 2006, which was exactly two weeks before his death, a song with "Liquidsilva" from Australia

Personal Life

DeShaun was married to Sharonda Holton, and had five kids (not all from the same mother), Nyeem, DeShaun Jr., Kativa, Elijah and Nasaan.

Death

On April 11, 2006, Proof was shot four times by Mario Etheridge, after an altercation broke out during a game of billiards at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan. A pool game between Proof and Keith Bender turned into a heated argument and then escalated into a physical altercation. Etheridge, who was Bender's cousin, fired a warning shot into the air. It was reported that Proof (who was licensed to carry a gun) then shot Bender in the head during the altercation. Bender was not immediately killed by the gunshot but died a week later from his injuries. In response to Proof shooting Bender, Etheridge then shot Proof four times, twice in the head and twice in the chest/stomach area, killing him at the scene. At the time of his death, Proof's blood alcohol content was 0.32, four times the legal DUI limit. An autopsy revealed that he did not have any illegal drugs in his system. Bender's family began a wrongful death suit against Proof's estate. Authorities determined that Etheridge was acting lawfully in defense of another; however, he was found guilty of carrying an illegal firearm and discharging it inside of a building.

On April 12, 2006, Proof was buried in the Fellowship Chapel in Detroit to a full house of 2,660, including long time friend Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, D12 and thousands more mourning outside.

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. It provides scholarships to low-income children from single-parent households. Proof's death was mentioned on Eminem's 2009 album Relapse ("Deja Vu", "Beautiful" and "Elevator"), and on his 2010 album Recovery ("Going Through Changes", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "You're Never Over"). In 2010, he recorded a song called "G Daddy" that explained the life and background of Proof. Xzibit also paid tribute to Proof on the track "Thank You" from his album Full Circle. Game also paid tribute to him on the song "Face of LA" and "Why You Hate The Game?". 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 the song "Security" from his album Success Is Certain to Proof. On March 12, 2012, Obie Trice released a mixtape called "Watch the Chrome" which included a track dedicated to Proof called "Big Proof's Back". Swifty McVay also released a tribute song called "Guardian Angel" on his recent LP. Fellow Detroit rapper Quest Mcody also released a Tribute song entitled "Dreamin".

Discography

Main article: Proof discography Solo albums

• 2004: I Miss the Hip Hop Shop
• 2005: Searching for Jerry Garcia

Discography with D12

• 1997: The Underground EP
• 2001: Devil's Night
• 2004: D12 World

Filmography

• 8 Mile (2002), Lil Tic
• The Longest Yard (2005), Basketball Convict

Videography

• "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" (1995), extra
• "The Real Slim Shady" (2000), extra
• "Shit on You" (2000)
• "Purple Pills" (2001)
• "Fight Music" (2001)
• "Rap Name" (2002), extra
• "Nightmares" (2003), extra
• "My Band" (2004)
• "40 Oz" (2004)
• "How Come" (2004)
• "U R The One" (2004)
• "Like Toy Soldiers" (2005) - acting as Bugz
• "Welcome 2 Detroit" (2005), extra
• "Gurls Wit Da Boom" (2005)
• "When The Music Stops" (2005)

Further reading

• Anthony Bozza (20 May 2006). "The true story behind the killing of Eminem's friend Proof". The Observer. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
• XXL (2 October 2006). "The Death of Proof: Bare Witness". Retrieved 7 October 2012.